So I Could Live Forever
by Silver33650
Summary: Modest yet ambitious and very interested in science, young Caroline manages to net her dream job at Aperture Science as the founder's personal assistant. As time passes, her dream becomes a nightmare... My first story.
1. The Dream Job

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Portal related.**

_Chapter One: The Dream Job_

I remember when I first met him.

It had been difficult to net an invitation to this party, but it had been worth it. After earning my masters degree in physics at the early age of twenty, an orphan with no living relatives who'd been pushed around through foster care, and being a woman to boot, there were many people interested in my future. Most of the jobs I'd been offered were not of the caliber I'd expecting, however. It was growing apparent that despite my intelligence, my gender was pushing me back. Besides, there was only one company I was interested in, and its owner was a little too busy for me.

Cave Johnson of Aperture Science Innovators.

He was so rich, the man who made shower curtains. With his wealth he had bought an entire salt mine in Michigan to conduct scientific experiments. Nobody had any concrete idea what he was doing down there, but he had access to anyone he wanted as test subjects. It was a little strange that so few of them ever left the facility after volunteering, but I was pretty sure it was because of how intensive the experiments were.

Cave rarely left the confines of Aperture except on official business, but for whatever reason he was attending a party my university was hosting in honor of a research breakthrough some graduate students had. I knew one of them from one of my classes, and managed to convince him to get me an invitation after I had fixed a sign error on his calculations. It was only fair, I'd told him, since that equation wouldn't have worked out with an incorrect sign and the breakthrough would've never happened. He had still been hesitant, but then I noted that he would have to admit a girl corrected his math, and he gave in.

So there I was, in the university's grand ballroom, in my best dress, which really wasn't saying much. It was old and worn, and probably sported a few holes, but it's not like I could buy anything better. I didn't have much money, because although my last foster parent had donated his immense wealth to putting me through school, that was about it. I'd exhausted his generosity after graduate school. This was my last chance at my dream job.

You could hear him boasting about his riches from clear across the room. The crowd was too thick to go straight through, so I cautiously wound my way over to where he had attracted quite a crowd talking about some of the new projects he planned for the company. He had everyone gathered around him mesmerized, myself included as I approached. He was quite the speaker, after all. It was admirable, listening to him talk about science. And I was all about science.

I stayed at the edge of the group, listening to his every word for as long as he spoke. Eventually, the crowd broke up, but I hung around, following him as he strode to the punch bowl. I really didn't expect such a powerful and wealthy man to notice me, but he did, as he ladled punch into his glass.

"So," he said easily, "any reason you've been following me?"

I froze, and he turned to me. His face was amused, not angry as I'd expected.

"Well?"

"I'm very interested in science," I stammered. "Working at your company would be... my dream job."

He raised an eyebrow. "A girl interested in science?" he laughed.

"I have a masters degree from this university," I said quickly. "In physics. I'm very interested in science."

"You said that already," he pointed out, and I blushed.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, looking at my feet. "I shouldn't have bothered you."

"I spoke first," he said. "But that doesn't matter. Listen, I'm actually looking for a new assistant. My old one turned tail and thought he could get a better salary at... at... well, not at the number two best applied science company. I haven't started looking at replacements, haven't even posted a job opening in the papers yet even, but if you're interested, I wouldn't have to."

I looked back up at him, not daring to believe what he just said. His face was still jovial. "I'm more interested in the actual science of the facility..." I started.

"You're still reeling from shock. That's okay. But think... Think of all the things that might go on scientifically underground. Think as ridiculous as you can."

I thought about it, just for a moment. My passion for science gave me some pretty crazy ideas.

"Everything you thought of? I've done all of those things. Probably more," he added, shrugging. "And when you take this job, you'll get to see all those things... and more."

"Do you mean that?" I asked, still skeptical and still shocked.

"Of course."

It was my dream job.

"I'd be honored, sir," I told him, blushing again.

"Excellent." He held out his hand. "Now we can do some formal introductions, although you already know who I am. Cave Johnson, founder and CEO of Aperture Science Innovators. And yours?"

"Caroline," I said, taking his hand. His grip was comforting and firm. "Science enthusiast."

"Well, Caroline," he said, beaming, "I think we're going to get along swell."


	2. It Makes Holes

_Chapter Two: It Makes Holes_

I stared out the car window, enjoying the vast field of wheat flying by as the driver sped toward Aperture. He was going rather fast, and I was pretty sure the chances of crashing into something on the way were way over one hundred percent, but suddenly the car was decelerating. I looked around for the building that housed my new job, but there was still wheat in every direction.

It was early, and I was nervous. Here I was, young and inexperienced, heading for a job at one of the most prestigious scientific establishments in the country. I still couldn't quite believe it as I watched the sun rise and paint the wheat a deeper, richer shade of gold.

The driver got out and opened my door for me as I stepped out of the car anxiously. "Is this really where we stop?" I asked, hoping I'd gotten in the right car and that the man wasn't actually a rapist instead of the Aperture employee sent to drive me.

"Yep." He pointed to a pale gray dot in the distance, hard to spot among the wheat. "That's the entrance we're using. The official entrance isn't finished yet."

"How far off is that?" I asked, squinting.

"Far," he answered simply. "Let's get started."

I sighed. Being a woman professional meant wearing awful shoes, and I was starting to regret it already.

The gray dot slowly grew into a rectangular shack, only notable for its bolted door. My driver opened it- the door was thicker than I had thought- and gestured for me to enter first. I did so, and as soon as he entered, the door swung shut automatically and we started down.

This journey was far less exciting. The driver wasn't very talkative in the least, so I had nothing to do but stare at the stone gray of the walls on the way down. It seemed endless, and I was starting to believe it was, despite how impossible it was.

The driver evidently noticed my confused, anxious expression. "It usually takes at least half an hour for the lift to reach the bottom," he explained. "I know there's not much to do, but that's the way it is. Besides, you won't have to do this anymore if he likes you."

"What?"

"Some of the employees live down here," he said. "There's just that much room. It's convenient if you've got nowhere else to go. The amenities are pretty nice, and Mister Johnson can afford everything and anything, so it's pretty luxurious. Makes you wonder why he even pays us with the lifestyle we have down here. Of course, he empties the place out during holidays."

If I would be treated the miracle of science I was expecting, this would be heaven. If not, it would be like a prison, and I'd have to dream up some new dream job.

Finally, the lift reached the bottom, and the gates opened without ceremony. "Mister Johnson should be waiting for you just beyond that door," my driver said. "Have a good first day."

I nodded my thanks, sucked in a deep breath of courage and walked through the door.

And there he was. Cave Johnson, looking chipper in his dark suit with his eyes alive with amusement and mouth upturned in a grin on one side. "Caroline!" he greeted me, holding out his hand. "Welcome to day one at Aperture."

He went on to say more, but I wasn't listening to him, as I was mesmerized already. The entry hall I was in was huge, and I stared up at the giant steel sign announcing the company's name. It was spectacular, and this was only the entrance. I couldn't wait to see the rest. I could only imagine what that would look like.

Cave's laugh brought me out of my thoughts. "Impressive, isn't it?" he asked proudly. "I'll give you the grand tour. Come on."

I followed him across the catwalk under the impressive sign to a nondescript door that led into the vestibule area. "This is where all the test subjects enter for this course," Cave said. "We're in shaft 9, Zulu Bensen, my personal favorite."

As soon as the doors opened, I heard Cave's voice over the intercom. He chuckled slightly. "I've been doing pre-recorded messages to welcome everyone when I'm not around, so that's what that is," he explained. "It plays every time the door's opened."

The area was bustling with orange-jumpsuited test subjects and white-coated scientists. There were also plenty of secretaries recording incoming volunteers' information and directing them to the appropriate location. I sighed inwardly as I realized that was what I'd probably be doing.

We passed a portrait of Cave Johnson, and he stopped beside it to mimic its pose. "Great, right?" he asked me. "Had to pay a pretty penny, but it was worth it. And of course, here's the trophy case. Ignore the second place certificates."

I stared at the piece of paper declaring Aperture Science as the number two applied science company in America. "Who was number one?" I asked.

"I said ignore it," Cave said, pulling me away from the case while muttering, "damned Black Mesa..."

Black Mesa? Oh. I'd heard of them, too. They seemed a bit too stuck-up for my taste. But if things didn't work out here, it was probably my second choice. But this would work out for the best, I hoped. I really hoped.

We moved through another doorway. Cave pushed me toward the elevator, but I was more focused on the sheer size of the new area.

"What on earth is that?" I asked, pointing at a giant sphere hanging in the shaft.

"Enrichment Sphere. You'll be in there soon enough."

The shaft seemed to go up forever, and I couldn't help but stop and stare up and wonder where it ended. It was at that moment when it really stuck me just how huge Aperture was. I knew salt mines went deep, but this was incredible. A miracle of science indeed.

We rode the elevator up and walked over more catwalks to a door marked Alpha. Cave grinned like a kid with a lollipop. "You're in for a real treat here," he said. "And this is just a small taste of what I've been up to in Aperture."

I returned his smile hesitantly. I still wasn't quite sure what to expect.

The door led to a room full of pipes, and Cave led me into a small office space filled with scientists.

"Morning, fellas," Cave greeted them. "How's the gel?"

"As good as ever," one said, sitting at the control panel. He turned around to give me a good look. "Showing a new employee around, Mister Johnson?"

"Yep," he said, "this here's Caroline. She'll be replacing Greg."

"Wait, Greg quit?" Another one of the employees swirled his chair around in surprise. "Why? It's not like there's any better place to work at, other than-"

"Exactly," Cave grunted, suddenly in a poor mood. "We're off, boys. Back to work."

They turned around quickly and we left in a rush. Cave led me back up the catwalks briskly, taking an elevator up into the sphere itself.

"What are the pipes for?" I asked as the lift rose.

"Something special," he said vaguely. "Whipped up a nifty little gel to use for testing. You'll see what it does. Sure you'll like it."

The elevator stopped, opening its gate, and I looked out into an enrichment sphere. Large and round, I stared upward even as Cave dragged me forward through the catwalks. "This is the first testing area here," he said, gesturing grandly. I tore my gaze away from the outside and examined the room we'd entered. Two ledges were above my position, while there was a pit ahead of me, and I stared at the blue material coating the bottom.

"Is that the gel?" I asked.

"Sure is. If you would," he said, nodding to a test subject I hadn't noticed before. He was wearing a strange, huge black boxlike thing on his back, which confused me. It had a tube connecting to a gun-like thing in his hand.

The man jumped onto the blue stuff, and with a boing, landed squarely on the other side. He waved happily.

"It... bounces?" I said, bewildered. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Of course you haven't. This is Aperture," Cave said. "It's called repulsion gel. Neat, huh?"

"Amazing," I breathed admirably, wondering how it worked. "So what's the black backpack for?"

Cave laughed. "That's what's next. Continue, sir!"

The man pulled a trigger at the wall, and a shimmering blue oval appeared on the white wall in front of him. He turned around and shot it again up at a wall on the ledge. The blue oval instantly transformed into something else. I glanced up at the other ledge, trying to get my bearings. It almost looked like a view of the opposite ledge, from a vantage point of the ledge he'd just shot at... But that was impossible...

The man then walked through the blue oval, and suddenly I saw him up on the ledge, waving. I glanced back at the blue oval, where I could see his backside.

"But.. but..." I was speechless, babbling nonsensically. "That's... that's impossible... it doesn't make any sense... He was... but... and..." I looked at Cave helplessly. "What... what does it _do_?"

He put a hand on my shoulder. "That, Caroline, is the Aperture Science Portable Quantum Tunneling Device," he said proudly.

"Quantum... tunneling device," I repeated faintly.

"Yep. It makes holes."

My eyes widened. "It makes _holes_?" I echoed shrilly. "That... That doesn't even begin to cover it! You could go wherever you wanted with that! You could make shortcuts wherever you liked, travel as easily as possible over vast distances in ridiculously short periods..." My mind buzzed with possibility, racing with ways this technology could be put to use. Then I zoned in on the immense bulk of it. "And I'm sure we could shrink that down somehow," I added, wishing I had the blueprints. "If we could condense it down to the size of a handheld gun, even a shotgun, let alone a rocket launcher... It would be all the more useful... Just think of it..."

"Like I said," Cave returned, "it makes holes."

I stared at him in disbelief. "It. Makes. Holes," I muttered.

That was when I passed out.


	3. I Trust My Gut

**A/N: Thank you for the positive reviews. I really appreciate it. Also, this chapter is rather short, but the next one should be much longer.**

_Chapter Three: I Trust My Gut_

I woke up in an unfamiliar room, and panic shot through me. Where was I? It was a well-decorated room, and I was lying in a quite lavish bed. I sat up immediately, then I spotted Cave Johnson's worried face.

"You okay?" he asked simply. I nodded, and he looked relieved. "Gave us quite a scare fainting like that. Did you get overwhelmed by the science?"

"That... was exactly it," I said shakily. "I realize that sounds rather strange..."

He shook his head. "Nonsense. That's what I like to see around here. You're exactly the kind of person I want to have, and I'm glad I hired you." He gestured around the room. "Hope you like it. This is your complimentary room. I'll send for the rest of your things tomorrow. Unless you'd like to live outside the place..."

"No, this is fine," I said quickly, not daring to risk losing it. "I don't really have anything else worth keeping in my apartment anyway." This was mine? This beautiful room? I took a deep breath. "So what exactly will I be doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought I made that clear. You're my personal assistant. Second in command."

"But what will I do?"

"Whatever needs to get done," he said. "Look. You're going to have command over every Aperture employee except me. Everyone will have to listen to what you say, except me, because I'm the boss."

I leaned back against the pillow. In charge of everyone but Cave himself? Impossible. "Don't you think that's a little much for me?" I protested. "I don't have much experience or anything... I'm sure you have other employees that are better qualified than me. I don't think I'm really suited for this sort of thing..."

He put up a hand to stop my excuses. "Not to worry," he assured me, "I know you'll do fine. I'm not asking you to work miracles. That's for the lab boys to do. Just keep the science in line and running, and I'll take care of the rest. And trust me, you'll get to watch plenty of it. You'll have access to any of the lab reports you want to read or look over. It doesn't matter to me. So, do we have a deal?"

He held out his hand. I wanted to take it, but it seemed like so much responsibility. I wasn't up for this, not yet. I could work as a lab technician for a few years before proving that I was second-in-command material. That was fair, right? To give me a few more years' experience before taking a leadership position?

Cave reached into his suit and handed me a card. "If it helps you decide, that's your starting salary."

I looked at the number. "That's too many zeroes," I said immediately.

"Caroline," Cave said squarely, "either you take it now, or you don't take it at all. Trust me on this one. When I first saw you, I had a gut feeling that you would be the best for this job, and I'm a man who trusts his gut. So, what do you say?"

I stared at him. "I suppose... I'll accept the position," I said finally, taking his hand. His grip was as friendly as it had been at the party. Warmer, actually, and his smile was huge.

"Excellent," he beamed. "You can start by taking a look at the plans for the quantum tunneling device. I figured that'd be first on your list." He took the papers out of his suit and handed them over.

My eyes widened as I looked them over. It was just as impressive as I thought it would be, and I quickly figured out how exactly it worked. "Some of this can go," I said, tracing my finger over the bulky backpack. "I see what's going on here, but... there's a lot of wasted space." He offered me a pencil and I took it, crossing parts out and writing in new ideas. "With the right technology, we could..." I circled part of the plans, the entire backpack portion. "In... twenty years or so, I believe this can be compacted to the size of a handgun," I declared, "more or less." I scrawled furiously, crossing out the backpack entirely and jotting down notes in its place.

Cave just watched. I could feel his pleasure at my quick work, though. I looked back up at him. "What about the gel?" I demanded.

"Anything you want," he said. "I'll show you where the files are."

"Excellent," I said, smiling. This was my dream job, and it was time to get to work.


	4. Married to Science

_Chapter Four: Married to Science_

I was in love with Aperture.

Everything about the facility struck a perfect chord with me, even the often dangerous tests, challenging people to be creative and resourceful. It was amazing what some of them could accomplish... and what some of them didn't. All the people! Rushing around in white coats and directing others- the test subjects, all in orange jumpsuits- around the facility, recording results, doing science. I could feel the progress of what we were doing, feel the magnitude of its importance as I walked the facility's halls. I had learned every step of the building in a week, large as it was, from my frequent travels back and forth. I didn't even need the map Cave had given me. It was a true pleasure to be surrounded by such a wonderful place, dangerous as it could be, and I loved every minute of it.

And I was the assistant to the founder himself. I had pored over pages of test results, sketching out graphs and charts and noting what areas the subjects were most likely to fail at, with percentages for each category and overall... _wait_. I did a double take at the total number of failures. There had to be too many zeroes on that number. The tests weren't _that _difficult, were they? They didn't seem that hard... I frowned at the test results I was reading as I stood in Cave's office, waiting for him to arrive. I found the likelihood of damaged equipment, followed by the total number of Aperture Science Portable Quantum Tunneling Devices destroyed in testing. Now _that _was a number with too many zeroes. There had to be a better way to do this...

"Caroline, the papers?"

I whirled around to see my boss enter. I handed him his papers, and he flipped through them eagerly. "More test results," he noted, tossing them on his desk as he sat down. "Thank you. I haven't told you this, but... Productivity is up 150% since you got here. One hundred and fifty percent." He took a long sip of the coffee waiting on his desk. "I ought to give you a raise."

My eyes widened. I'd barely been working a month. "I think I earn more than enough already."

He laughed. "Make sure the microphone is plugged in, will you? I need to record a few messages."

"Yes sir, Mister Johnson," I said, rushing about the room. "What are you recording today?"

"Just an introduction to the testing area. Want to give all the loyal test subjects a warm welcome to the place." He watched me plug in cables silently for a moment. "I'd like you to be part of this one. A little back and forth to show how much everyone here cares about science."

I smiled shyly. "Of course, sir," I replied, adjusting the volume to the normal variance. "What do I say?"

"Got a script right here," Cave said, waving a sheet of paper. "Come over here and read it. It's not hard. We'll record this in one go."

I scanned the sheet quickly. I didn't say much, and what I did say was what I usually said around the office anyway. I was always impressed by Cave's charisma, and this didn't fail to disappoint.

"Ready when you are," he said, and I pressed the record button and nodded at him.

"Welcome, gentlemen, to Aperture Science," Cave read warmly. "Astronauts, war heroes, Olympians- you're here because we want the best, and you are it. So! Who is ready to make some science?"

"I am!" I said eagerly, and Cave laughed at my honest enthusiasm.

"Now you already met one another on the limo ride over, so let me introduce myself. I'm Cave Johnson. I own the place. That eager voice you heard is the lovely Caroline, my assistant. Rest assured, she has transferred your honorarium to the charitable organization of your choice. Isn't that right, Caroline?"

"Yes sir, Mister Johnson."

"She's the backbone of this facility," Cave said fondly. "Pretty as a postcard too. Sorry fellas, she's married. To science."

I blushed as I glanced at the lack of ring on my left hand as I stopped the recording. "Married to science?" I said quizzically as I checked the tape. "That seems a bit much... Especially with the backbone of the facility comment. I'm nowhere near that important."

"It's true as true can be," Cave said. "You're doing a great job, and you enjoy it. Nothing else could give you the kind of happiness science gives you, Caroline. I've seen it. That's why you're so good at this."

I blushed more deeply as I ejected the tape. "I'm just doing my job, Mister Johnson," I said, moving toward the door. "I'll take this to the lobby and stick it in the player. Every time someone enters the room, right?"

"No matter which way they come from," Cave affirmed. "I like to remind them what they're here for." He leaned back in his chair. "Get my theme song on there too, would you?"

"I was already planning on it, sir."

He nodded. "I could not ask for a better assistant." He took a sip of coffee. "Grab the newest reports from the lab boys while you're over there, will you? I'll have more tapes for you when you get back."

I nodded, left, and headed toward the sound booth. "Layer Mister Johnson's personal anthem under this, please," I instructed, pushing the cassette toward the secretary. "I'll be back for it in twenty minutes."

"Yes, Caroline," she said sweetly. I had insisted all the employees call me by my first name, as I still didn't think I was privileged enough to be addressed as a superior.

I strode off toward the engineering wing, my personal favorite area of Aperture. This was where the science happened after all. I'd been there often in my time here, and I had quickly earned the respect of everyone there. Now they were starting to ask my opinion on every aspect of their work, and it was hard to say no to inspecting new scientific breakthroughs.

One of the newer engineers, Marty, spotted me immediately. "Caroline!" he called, waving me over. "I think there's an error in my equations for the energy output of the new fans we're installing. They're outputting negative energy, and there's no way it should work like that, even theoretically."

"You have a sign error," I said automatically. It was the most prominent cause in most mathematics I'd encountered here, let alone anywhere. Pesky things, signs. "Find it and I'm sure it'll look normal."

"Could you look at it?" he asked. "You always find it so quickly. And there could be other errors, for all I know."

I laughed as he handed me the paper. "I can't fix everything," I warned him, skimming through the work. "I have been wrong before."

"No you haven't," Marty said, shaking his head.

"I'm sure I have," I said. "There." I pointed at the line where the mistake was. "It's actually not a sign error, technically. You substituted incorrectly here. There needs to be another term added to that, like there is there, where you first found the value." I pointed to a line near the top of the page. "Once you take that into account all the way through, you should get a positive..." I scanned through the rest of the page to make sure. "So, see, I was wrong in being quick to say it was a sign error."

"You still found the error," he pointed out.

"Still... oh, wait, there's a sign error at the bottom," I said, catching it. "You forgot to cross that plus sign. That should be it, then." I returned the paper to him.

"So you were right again."

"In the end." I laughed. "So, what are those fans for anyway?"

"Working out a new type of wind tunnel," he said. "I have no idea how it would work, but Mister Johnson seems excited about it. Not quite sure what the test subjects will even be doing."

I nodded. "Speaking of which... Any new developments? I'm supposed to check."

"Steve has them," he replied, pointing behind him. "There's some stuff on the experimental wall types, and more ideas for ways to better protect testing equipment."

"Like the quantum tunneling device?"

He nodded. "Anyway, thanks for the fixes," he said, wandering off. I kept walking to Steve's office and knocked gently on his open door. His head jerked up at the sound.

"Caroline. The papers are... around here... somewhere..." He shuffled things around on his desk as pens and pencils went flying. "There. The wall-things are coming along nicely," he said, flipping through the report. "And here's more ideas for apparatus protection. The best one so far is wrapping the QTD in bubble wrap, but there are concerns about testing distractions."

I smiled as I took the papers and skimmed them idly. "Distractions aren't conducive to science," I muttered, looking over the protection ideas. Something was bothering me about them... "All of these are protecting the device itself," I realized.

He laughed at me. "That's the point."

"Well... the test subject's handling of the device, right?" I sat in his chair and grabbed one of his loose pencils. "So why not just protect the test subjects themselves?" I drew a stick figure on the back of a stray paper. "Some kind of spring-loaded shoes... with shock absorbers..." I sketched a rough set of braces on the figure's legs. "It's kind of rough, but I'm sure we could work it into shoes somehow. Like... boots. Or something."

I looked up to see Steve staring at me blankly.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "That probably sounded crazy."

He blinked and shook himself. "No... No. No!" His eyes lit up as he studied my terrible sketch more closely. "This is great. Really great, Caroline. Seriously."

I laughed nervously. "You're not joking?"

"Of course not!" He yanked the pencil out of my hand and started making his own sketches. "Shock absorbers... why didn't we think of it earlier..." He looked up at me for a moment. "Go get anyone else hanging around out there. This is important."

I nodded and looked out into the hallway, where Marty was still shuffling around. "Steve wants you," I called. "It's important."

He ran into the room immediately. "What'd you come up with this time?" he asked me with a half smile.

"It's nothing, really," I insisted, despite the look on Marty's face as he scanned the page. They made a few more notes before handing the paper back to me.

"Show that to Mister Johnson first," Steve said. "And make sure you say you came up with it."

"But you turned it into something more workable," I said, reading the notes. "You probably would've come up with it eventually."

They both laughed, shaking their heads. "It doesn't matter," Marty said. "It's still your idea."

I shrugged and left, but the idea remained in my head the rest of the day. I couldn't help it. As soon as I got to my room at the end of the day, I sketched a vague outline of a boot, trying to think of a way to implement the shock absorbers. It couldn't be bulky, as that would detract from testing... Maybe something to ensure subjects landed on their feet, as the boots wouldn't be much help if they didn't. There had to be a way, I thought, biting the tip of my eraser, and I'd figure it out eventually. I scrawled at the top, _long fall boot_. I sighed. This needed a lot of work, time that I likely wouldn't have, but it was promising. The lab boys could have fun with it in the morning. I shoved it into my file folder with the rest of my papers before collapsing on my bed into sleep.


	5. Working the Break

**A/N: Bear with me through the holiday fun in the next few chapters. I know it's summer. It's a lot of Caroline/Cave fluff but it's cute. At least, I think so. Anyway.**

_Chapter Five: Working the Break  
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"Caroline?" Cave called as I went to mail his bill payments. "Tomorrow's Thanksgiving."

I stopped, turning back to face him as I stood in the doorway. "Is it?" My sense of time had gone fuzzy during my time at Aperture. Every day was so full of science that I often found myself working through weekends without realizing. "Does that mean I won't be working tomorrow?"

Cave laughed. "No one works tomorrow," he said. "Same with Christmas and New Years when we get there. Everyone gets the entire weekend off, till Monday. Are you going home?"

I shook my head. "I'm... not really wanted there," I muttered. It wouldn't be worth it. My last foster parent had made it quite clear he was done with me for good, and I'd sold my old apartment. I was on my own in this world, not that it mattered. Aperture was my only home now.

"So you've got nowhere to go?" He shook his head. "That won't do. You can't stay here alone all weekend..."

"I don't mind," I said honestly. I thought of how much work I could get done in a weekend, free from the distraction of other employees. Finish up the long fall boot, refine the wall constructions, finalize the initial revisions to the quantum tunneling device to make it more maneuverable... And that was just the beginning. "There's a lot of work to do, after all."

"You can't push yourself too hard," he told me. "Not around the holidays. Any other time, fine. But you need a break now and then, and this is the now. So, why don't you spend the weekend at my place?"

My jaw dropped. I'd stayed here during the other holidays since I'd started anyway, so why was he pushing this now? Just because this was a more significant one wasn't going to change my plans. "I wouldn't want to impose," I said quickly.

"Don't be silly. It's just me in that house anyway," he said. "We can have a great big dinner, just the two of us. Well, us and the butlers, but they'll be eating elsewhere. So what do you say?"

I shook my head. "It's too much," I said.

"I'm your boss, Caroline. If I can't get you out of here now, I'll get you at Christmas," he warned with a smirk. "There won't be anything at all going on here then anyway. Not even testing."

I sighed, knowing he wouldn't give in. "I'll agree to Christmas if you let me stay here this weekend."

"Deal."

Thanksgiving passed quickly. I spent Thursday through Saturday performing various maintenance around the facility- quite a few of the surveillance cameras had been malfunctioning recently, but they weren't hard fixes. I filed papers, making sure Cave's desk was ordered properly in hopes that he'd stop losing things. I didn't get a chance to work on the scientific schematics until Sunday, so I devoted the entire day to them.

The long fall boot plans were coming along nicely. I felt confident about this one, even thinking I could be the first one to test it out. I moved on to the wall constructions. The idea was to create walls for testing chambers that were more versatile than the current, boring painted wooden planks. Ideally they would be fully mobile and able to be changed at will... so something needed to be placed on the walls to achieve that. There were plenty of sketches from the engineers about how best to do this, but one of them stood out. The hinge moved in all directions so it could change easily, but the problem was a way to manipulate them all at once, or only select ones. I drew wires connecting them. Better than nothing, but there had to be something better. I yawned, realizing how late it was. I needed sleep, but I couldn't do that yet. I turned off the light and changed, working by lamp as I turned to the last item on my list- the Aperture Science Portable Quantum Tunneling Device.

I loved working on it. It was my absolute favorite of all the Aperture Science technology, and I took advantage of every chance I got to improve it. I played around with the locations of the main features. I was determined to decrease its size, but it was proving more difficult than I'd anticipated. I sighed and leaned back against my pillow. I really needed more sleep... but I just couldn't resist finishing up a few revisions. I hummed as I sketched, and suddenly I heard my door open.

"Caroline?"

"Mister Johnson!" I exclaimed as he moved into the light. "I thought you wouldn't be back until Monday!"

"Thought I'd give you some company." He sat on the edge of the bed, not bothering to ask permission. Not that I could stop him. "What were you humming?"

"Oh, it was... nothing, really," I stammered. "Just an old lullaby I knew from when I was young. My mother was Italian and would sing to me sleep before she died."

"Sounds pretty."

"My mother was a professional vocalist," I explained. "She could sing it much better than I could hum it. Not that I remember much, but..."

He frowned, sympathetic. "I bet your voice sounds great."

"No, not especially," I insisted. "You wouldn't want to hear it."

"If you say so." His eyes turned to my papers. "What are you working on?"

"The quantum tunneling device." I showed him the sheet. "It's just such an exciting piece of technology. I love how versatile it is. The few tests we have utilizing them are child's play. Think of what else we could do with it."

"And think of all the other things we could be inventing," Cave reminded. "I have high hopes about the praying mantis DNA experiment."

I frowned. "I'm sorry, sir. But every time I think about it, I just wish I could experiment with it for the rest of my life."

He laughed. I realized he had moved closer to me on the bed. When had that happened? "Don't get caught up in it. It's just a testing aid," he said. "Besides, I have the lab boys working on another gel. You should probably take a look at it in the morning."

"Yes sir," I said, going back to work. I expected him to leave, but he remained there, staring at me. "Sir?" I asked hesitantly.

"Just watching you work," he said. "Don't mind me."

I nodded slowly, biting my eraser. I really had to stop that habit, especially with Cave watching. I scribbled a few things out, my pencil sounding excessively loud in the room, almost echoing out into the empty hallways. I tried to ignore Cave's watching eyes.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked.

"N-no, sir," I stammered. "Just nervous."

He laughed. "So, uncomfortable." He reached over and put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Get some rest, Caroline. You're getting bags under your eyes."

I blushed. "Yes sir, Mister Johnson."

"Wouldn't want you to ruin that pretty face of yours."

There was a strange look in his eyes, one that slightly unnerved me. "Yes sir," I muttered, setting my papers away. "Good night, sir."

His brow creased slightly, then he nodded and left. I stared at the door as I listened to him walk away down the hallway. I was so confused. It was understandable that he was worried about me because I was his assistant, but I couldn't shake the feeling there was something else. I just had no idea what it was.

I shut the lamp off and dreamed in orange and blue.


	6. The Fall

_Chapter Six: The Fall _**(A/N: No, not that fall)**_  
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The winter holidays came too soon.

"Caroline, are all the test shafts locked up?"

"Yes sir. All security systems active," I reported, almost sliding on the ice coating the new parking lot. It was Christmas Eve, a half day for all employees, and I had been entrusted to close everything up. Cave was waiting for me, leaning against his car door with his hands in his pockets. My bags were already in the car, and I had only needed to go back for my folder as I locked up.

"A mouse couldn't sneak in there," Cave said confidently. He looked around the empty parking lot. "Not even Black Mesa. Door's open."

I reached for the handle as a snowflake landed on my hand. "It's snowing," I murmured, looking up. Cave did the same as the soft white flakes floated down from the sky.

"Beautiful," he said, and I nodded, mesmerized by the falling snow. Then he laughed, and I wasn't sure why.

"I wasn't talking about the snow," he said.

I was still confused as I got in the car. Cave drove just a touch too fast on the slick road, but luckily we weren't going very far, and he somehow turned safely into a gravel driveway.

"You can't see the house from the road," he told me, keeping only one hand on the wheel. "I value my privacy. Can't afford to have any corporate spies trying to sneak in and steal my ideas."

I smiled at Cave's ever-present paranoia at having his ideas stolen. A few moments later, the building came into view. That wasn't a _house_. It was practically a castle, and I told him as much.

"Shower curtains are profitable! Especially when you sell to every military branch but the navy." He laughed. "Now just think of how much we could make when all that science is fully tested."

My eyes widened. "You built this solely from money earned from shower curtains?"

"You got it. I told you before, we're not gonna release that science stuff into the wild until it's good and damn ready."

I remembered recording that message for the exit. I had walked past his office while he was recording it, and when he saw me he'd stopped me and said, holding the microphone toward me, "Say goodbye, Caroline."

Caught off guard, I repeated, "Goodbye Caroline."

He'd smiled strangely, and I had suddenly felt very self-conscious. "She is a gem," he said into the microphone before turning it off. I thought he would want to redo it, but he'd handed me the tape, and now it played as every subject left the Enrichment Spheres.

Cave pulled into his garage, which could have probably held four or five cars despite him only owning the one we were in. As soon as I set foot in the house, a butler appeared to take my things. I was taken off guard, dropping things as I tried to hand them over. "I'll just take them myself," I said finally, as my coat slipped from my hands with my purse. "It's no trouble, really."

"Let the man do his job, Caroline," Cave said, laughing. "I still have the give the grand tour."

He offered his arm, and I entwined mine with his hesitantly. A wave of warmth rushed through me when I touched his skin, and I couldn't stop a nervous blush. He led me through the long, glistening white hallways of his home, pointing out all the special amenitites. I had never seen anything like it, as even that last rich foster parent hadn't been anywhere near this rich.

"And this is the largest guest bedroom, so obviously, this is where you'll be staying," Cave finished, opening the door. I gasped, as it was a carbon copy of my room at Aperture. "Feels like home, right?"

"Yes," I said, breathless, taking in every detail. "Do all the guest rooms look like this?"

"Not usually."

I glanced at him, shocked. So he had done this just for me. "You didn't have to do this," I told him.

"My pleasure," he said, smiling. "Go ahead and make yourself at home." He nodded at my bags. "I'll be downstairs. Come down whenever you're ready for dinner."

"Yes sir," I said, and he laughed.

"There's no need for that here."

"Sorry." I blushed. "Habit."

He nodded and left, leaving me alone my with confusing thoughts. He really didn't need to do all this for me, I thought as I unpacked. I understood that he appreciated my hard work, but I was sure I didn't deserve all this.

I set my file folder down on the nightstand, sighing when all the papers fluttered out because of how haphazardly I'd placed it. I looked over every sheet as I cleaned up, aware that quite a few of them were outdated. I hadn't had the time to organize it.

One paper caught my eye, because I'd never seen it before. I studied it, wondering how it had found its way into my folder. It was one a piece of Cave's personal stationery, the words written in his hand. _New year's resolutions, _the top line read. There were two main points- _Sell curtains to Navy _and_ Beat Black Mesa. _Both items were followed by an individual list of various ways to achieve them. I was set to put the sheet aside when I noticed my name at the very bottom. _Ask Caroline..._ but anything written after that had been obliterated by a very determined black marker.

I frowned. Was he going to fire me? No... I was pretty sure it wasn't that. Then what was all that crossed-out stuff doing there? And how did it even end up in my folder to begin with?

I shoved the paper into the same messy stack as the rest of them, forcing it out of my mind. I distracted myself with the formula for the very experimental gel we were working on next. The next time I looked at the clock, I realized Cave would probably be wondering why I hadn't come down to eat yet. I tossed the papers aside and rushed down the stairs. To compensate for definitely going a little too fast I kept my eyes focused on my feet hitting the steps. It didn't help much. As I rounded a corner, I wasn't walking down them anymore, I was falling down them.

But not for long, as I suddenly hit something sturdy. With a shock I realized it was my boss.

"I'm sorry, sir," I stammered, "I'll watch where I'm going next time..."

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you so worried about?" he asked. "I was worried you forgot about dinner."

"That's... why I was running," I explained.

He laughed. "Come on, Caroline. You need some brain food."

"Yes sir."


	7. The Presents

**A/N: I apologize for the schedule slip. Not like it was much of one, but I have a summer job. Expect delays in the coming weeks. I have been outlining chapters ahead of time to avoid long breaks.**

_Chapter Seven: The Presents_

The next day was Christmas.

"Rise and shine, Caroline!" Cave's voice boomed from the hallway. "Don't you know Santa came last night?"

I sat up groggily, glancing at my clock. I must've dozed off while working again, as my bed was littered with papers. I rubbed my eyes, trying to convince myself I was less tired than I was.

He knocked on the door. "Don't you want presents? I'm sure you got something nice."

I got out of bed with a knot in my stomach. Surely he hadn't gotten me anything expensive, I hoped. I didn't deserve it. I reached the door and opened it, only to be pulled out of my room by Cave. He proceeded to drag me downstairs to the parlor, where his giant tree towered in the corner. A stack of brightly wrapped boxes littered its base, and I stopped dead. Only two of those were my presents to him... hopefully that didn't mean the rest of them were for me.

"Ladies first," Cave said, gesturing toward the stack. I hesitated, then chose the smallest box with my name on it that I could find. With his encouragement, I managed to remove the wrapping paper and reveal the thin box. I opened it, gasping.

"How much was this?" I demanded, taking out the delicate gold necklace with care. The charm was the Aperture logo, a definite custom piece.

"Don't worry about it," Cave said, swatting a hand. "Put it on. I want to see how it looks."

"I can't wear this!" I cried, looking down at it. "Sir... is that a _diamond _in the center?"

"Like I said, don't worry about it." He sighed. "If you're just going to complain about it, I'll put it on you myself."

He reached for the necklace before I could stop him, clearing away my dark hair and fastening the snap with incredible speed. He grinned at me, taking it in.

"Now that is what Aperture's second-in-command should be wearing," he said proudly. "Open another one. Hell, open them all!"

I shook my head. "This is more than enough. I can't possibly accept anything else you got me..."

He shoved a package into my hands to cut me off. "Don't make me open it for you."

I sighed and ripped off the paper. A department store logo greeted me, and I knew clothing would await me inside the box as I removed the cover.

"SIR!" I shouted, taking the silky green dress out of the box as tissue paper flew everywhere. "This is too much!"

"Already? You haven't even seen the rest of the boxes! We're just getting started."

I stared at him. "I can't accept any of these. I don't deserve them. I don't." I started to refold the dress to put it back in the box, but Cave grabbed my arm.

"Caroline, I've seen the things you wear around the office. Even with your salary, you don't buy many nice things for yourself. Just think of it as a reward for all of your hard work."

I shook my head. "Nobody could work hard enough to deserve this."

Cave sighed. "Caroline. Don't be so modest." He reached for one of the two presents I'd gotten for him. "While you realize you're a vital part of Aperture Science, I'll get to opening mine."

I panicked. "They're nowhere near as extravagant as what you got for me," I explained quickly as he tore the paper off with expectation. "I'm sorry if you're disappointed."

"Don't be ridiculous." He opened the box to find a silver pocketwatch engraved with Aperture's logo. He took it out and swung it in my face. "And I bet this cost just as much as that necklace."

"Probably," I muttered, putting a hand to the charm around my neck. "But you also got me more presents."

"Which you should be opening right now," he pointed out, handing me another box. "I'm going to open my other present."

I ripped off the paper halfheartedly as Cave watched. It was another clearly expensive dress, this one a light lavender, and I gave him a pointed look as he started tearing the paper off his own.

"Now _this _is a useful gift." He took out a small tape recorder that I had managed to convince the engineers to build. Bribed is probably a better word, but the science got done. Cave took one of the spare tapes included in the box, popped it inside, and hit the circular record button. "Anything the lovely Caroline has to say on Christmas day?"

"Mister Johnson should refrain from spending excessive amounts of money on his already very well-paid assistant," I said.

He hit stop and gave me a pointed look. "Not exactly the answer I was looking for." He fumbled with the buttons. "Is there a manual for this thing? Or do I have to figure out how to delete things myself?"

"Look in the bottom of the box," I suggested, picking up another of my gifts. This dress was a lovely shade of powder blue, and the next was dark crimson. There were only two more boxes. One held a matching scarf, hat, and mittens set, all bearing the Aperture logo on the tag. The last was a long white overcoat, lined with a soft, fuzzy material that I could've fallen asleep on.

"Sir, you really didn't have to get me all of this," I told him again as I piled my new wardrobe together.

"Hey, you really needed the winter gear. Michigan is brutal in the winter."

"Yes, but I really didn't need the rest of it."

He smirked. "I didn't need a pocketwatch either."

I sighed. "Fair enough." I picked up my bundle of clothes and started upstairs.

"Caroline?"

I stopped and turned to him, halfway up the winding staircase.

"Put one of those dresses on, would you? This is one of those occasions where you'd wear one."

I nodded. "Yes sir."

"Preferably the green one, seeing as it's Christmas and all."

I smiled. "I was planning on it, sir."

When I got upstairs, there was another gift waiting on my bed. I opened it, already preparing what I would tell Cave about this one when I got back downstairs. To my surprise, it was a plain black binder with my name and the Aperture logo embossed on the front. I opened it, and a paper fluttered out. I picked it up and flipped to the side with words.

_Caroline- get organized! -Cave_

I couldn't help but laugh as I moved my stack of papers out of the old, beaten folder into my new sturdy binder.


	8. The Countdown

**A/N: Okay, wow. So someone has kindly drawn fanart for this fic. You can find the link in the reviews. **

**So. Wow. Speechless is the only word. I don't even know what to say, save thank you. I'm still in shock a little. Wasn't expecting that in the least. That was a nice surprise when I got home from work. Predictably, traffic to the fic has increased substantially. So again, thank you. More broadly, I also continue to appreciate all of your positive reviews. Sincerely.**

**Anyway, I've rambled long enough.**

_Chapter Eight: The Ninth Annual Aperture Science New Year's Eve Countdown Party_

In the days between Christmas and New Year's, Cave showed me even more around his estate. One day he took me up to the highest balcony in his veritable castle. I kept my distance from the railing due to my slight fear of heights, while Cave leaned on it fearlessly. He waved his hand with gusto over the view.

"Beautiful, right? Take a look at the scenery." I nodded appreciatively. "Everything the light touches belongs to me," he said proudly. "So the weird forest in the distance that always stays dark? Not mine. Place is probably haunted or something..."

I laughed as Cave took a sip of his wine. "So who owns the forest?"

"Who else? Black Mesa."

It was obvious he was joking, and we both laughed at that one. "But they don't even know what a forest is! They're located in a giant desert!" I pointed out.

"Exactly! That's why they're all holed up over there. To conduct science on some kind of new, alien habitat." I kept laughing, but he frowned. "Actually, they might really be there. Damn corporate spies. We should probably just burn it down."

"Sir? I think you've had too much to drink..."

He emptied his glass. "You are as insightful as ever, Caroline."

Another day we spent the day in his study. As I worked on projects already in progress, Cave sat in his chair and thought up new experiments.

"I have a way to prevent future energy problems," he told me. "We could convert blood into gasoline."

I grimaced. "I'm not sure how that would work..."

"Neither am I. That's what the lab boys are for." He jotted it down on a a legal pad, ripped the sheet off and pinned it to an already overloaded corkboard. "We need a way to make coal, too." He rapped his pen on the desk for a few minutes before writing something else down and sticking that page to the corkboard too. I read what he'd written and sighed.

"Anything else you think we can possibly convert into gasoline or coal?" he asked.

"I think you have enough ideas yourself, sir."

And each day there was feast for dinner that was comparable to what we'd had on Christmas day. Every day I ate more than I thought I would, and still Cave laughed at me for having no appetite. The quality of the food never failed to disappoint, of course, and the deserts only got better each day.

The day before New Year's Eve I awoke to the sounds of people rushing through the hallways, busy preparing the mansion for the next day. Every year, Cave hosted a New Year's Eve party for all the employees, all but making it mandatory for everyone to come. I was still trying to figure out what a party would do for science, but Cave explained it was mostly to build morale among the employees.

"Happy employees are hardworking employees, and hardworking employees make better science," he'd told me. "Besides, I have the biggest television set out of anyone here. Better to watch the countdown on."

I entered the den, where Cave was shouting at three of his servants. "If you keep handling that lamp like that, you're all going to get fired. Do you have any idea how much that cost? Twice your salary. At least."

"Um, sir?" I interrupted gently, getting his attention. "Isn't there anything I can do to help?"

"Don't be silly, Caroline. You work at Aperture, not at my house, and this is your vacation time." His frown deepened as the servants in question dropped a rather elaborate light arrangement. "Besides, nothing about this has anything to do with science. You wouldn't enjoy it."

"If you're sure..." I turned to return to my room.

"Caroline?"

I glanced over my shoulder.

"Wear that red dress tomorrow, would you?"

"I was planning on it, sir."

The next morning I found Cave directing the last few party preparations in a sharp black suit and dark crimson tie that matched my dress perfectly. I noted the silver chain of his pocketwatch hanging out under the jacket as he turned to face me. He grinned as I entered, taking in my dress and the necklace around my neck.

"You," he said, "look spectacular."

"As do you, sir."

Before long, employees streamed inside by the carload, as almost everyone carpooled. Cave was very lenient with the alcohol consumption, although he didn't drink much himself. As the clock approached midnight, he found me talking with some of the engineers about next year's projects at a table. He dragged me out of my chair and led me over to a table in the center of the house. I realized why he had refrained from drinking as he jumped easily onto a table and called everyone's attention.

"Now, as the New Year comes closer, I'd like to point out some high points of this year." He pointed his empty wineglass at me. "First and foremost, my personal assistant Caroline. Probably the most important thing that happened here, as I'm sure everyone is well aware." He paused for the voluntary applause, and I couldn't help blushing. "Second, of course, is our improved contract to sell shower curtains to every military branch but the navy, damn them. And last but not least, is Caroline again." Everyone laughed, and I blushed deeper. "So since she's been such a big help this year, I'll let her decide what this year's toast is." He extended his hand so I could join him on the table. "Caroline?"

I imagined what we must've looked like, standing above all the employees. With our near matching clothes, we probably looked like the lord and lady of Aperture, ready to lead them fearlessly through whatever tried to get in our way. I could feel the anticipation in the room as every eye focused on Cave and me, their bosses, as I realized what we had to toast to.

I took a deep breath to steady myself as Cave filled our glasses. "To science," I said, lifting my glass.

"TO SCIENCE!" everyone echoed, before taking a drink. Cave quieted everyone down as the countdown on the television screen began. He started at ten, and everyone joined in as the new year came closer.

At zero, he gave me a quick peck on the cheek. I blushed and gave him a questioning look, and he kept his gaze steady He held his glass towards me.

"To the best assistant I've ever had."

I put mine less than an inch away from his. "To the best boss I've ever had."

We clinked our glasses as the confetti and balloons started to rain from the ceiling. Several people quickly picked them up and hit them across the room, effectively starting a giant game of Don't Touch the Floor. Cave and I jumped off the table and joined in, and the party lasted well into the morning, with the last car leaving with the dawn.

Cave sighed as the car raced out of sight from the front window, and I cautiously put my head on his shoulder. It was a comfortable resting spot for my tired, spinning head. He closed the curtains with a flourish.

"And that," he said, putting an arm around my waist, "was an Aperture Science New Year's Eve Countdown Party."

After that night, I knew I was in the right place, and I was so sure nothing would ever be able to change that.

**A/N: Admittedly, I was hesitant on this chapter, but Aperture Science and Cave Johnson are still young and happy, and it's the fifties. Why the hell not.**


	9. The Part Where

**A/N: To respond to some reviewers: The year 1994 brought me two great things- my younger sister, and _The Lion King._ So, yes, GLaD to see someone picked up on it. On Chell's parents... well, I have decided who they're going to be, and suffice to say that Cave and Caroline will definitely have a connection to her. I don't want to spoil anything. It's still a ways off.  
><strong>

**Anyway.  
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_Chapter Nine: The Part Where He Makes an Offer She Can't Refuse_

I woke up in the morning with a smile on my face. What a lovely dream that had been, about a party filled with Aperture employees and... and _that_. That was nice.

I got dressed and opened my door, ready to get to work. But when I opened my door, I realized I wasn't at Aperture. I was still at Cave's, and that dream had actually happened.

How bizarre.

I sauntered downstairs to find Cave drinking coffee and sketching furiously. He looked up at my entrance and his face brightened instantly. "Good afternoon, Caroline."

I glanced at the wall clock. It was 2:30. "Good afternoon." I sat down at the table across from him and nodded at the paper in front of him. "What's that?"

"Ideas for the next science sphere." He flipped the paper so I could read it. "More repulsion gel testing."

He had a rough drawing of the first test chamber inside the circle. I looked it over. "You haven't drawn any tests in here yet."

"I thought you'd want to do that."

My head jerked up. "Really?"

"Caroline, you've already been contributing more ideas to Aperture than most of the lab boys would like to admit," He offered me his pencil. "Make a test chamber. Hell, make two."

I took it hesitantly, chewing on the eraser for a moment as I stared at the blank space inside the sphere on the page. Cave watched patiently, sipping his coffee. I didn't want to disappoint him, but... Suddenly I knew what I wanted. I drew furiously, and a smile tugged at Cave's mouth. It was hard to fit the specifics of the tests inside the tight shape, so I flipped the page over and drew clearer images on the back.

"This is just a rough idea," I said as I gave the sheet back to him. "I'm sorry it's so messy."

He kept his eyes on me as he took the paper from my hand, not bothering to look at my work. "Unfortunately, I can't pay you for that because you weren't on the clock," he said. "So I have a better idea. Why don't I take you out for dinner sometime? Someplace nice and... and _sciencey_."

"I... I don't..." I stammered. I tried to convince myself that he was just trying to be nice, and that it didn't mean anything more than that. It wasn't working, especially after last night. "You don't have to do that. I've done more without getting paid, and besides you pay me too much already-"

"Caroline, the last guy to have your job barely did half the work you did, and he kept wanting a raise." He grimaced. "Should've fired him sooner."

"But... that doesn't mean you should..."

"_Caroline._" He grabbed my hand, and that finally caused me to blush.

"I suppose... I'd enjoy that."

He smiled, satisfied. "There's still plenty of food left from last night, if you're hungry," he said, pointing at the icebox. "Even cake."

"I'm actually not hungry." I stood up quickly, almost knocking the chair over. "I... need to pack my things for tomorrow. I'll see you at dinner."

He frowned as I practically ran upstairs. I closed the door behind m swiftly and almost collapsed on the bed, my hair splaying over the covers. My heart was beating too fast, and not from the speed at which I rushed up there.

If there was one thing I knew, it was that emotions did not make for good science. Science was grounded in logic, and logic made sense. Logic played by its own rules. I could understand logic. Even Cave's crazy science still had to follow most of the laws of physics.

But emotions, I'd learned, did not follow rules. They were liable to change, fickle as fiends, and worst of all, self-important and arrogant. They demanded attention and dominated thoughts. Emotions were not conducive to science. Science required a clear head that emotions only fogged and blocked.

...Wow. Cave was right. Married to science indeed.

So understandably, I did not think much of relationships. But Cave Johnson was... special. And it would be just one night, right? One dinner with the boss. Maybe he would forget about it. The facility would be awfully busy when we returned, after all. Maybe I'd be off the hook.

I didn't believe that, but it was nice to hope.

I rolled over on the bed, reaching for the binder on my nightstand. Packing could wait. Right now, I needed something to distract me, and losing myself in work was the perfect remedy.


	10. The Sting

**A/N: Just a heads up: the two chapters after this will be a little different.  
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**Also. There are forums?**

**Anyway.**

_Chapter Ten : The Sting_

As wonderful as the holidays had been, I was glad to get back to work a few days later. Cave had a whole list of new tests to be performed, the new Enrichment Sphere was under construction, and the facility was busier than ever. I never stayed in one place for very long, as I was constantly rushing between shafts and wings, carrying messages and blueprints as the company grew.

"Caroline!"

I stopped myself at Cave's yell as I passed his office, and I stuck my head through the doorway. "Yes, sir?"

"How many test subjects are here today? All shafts."

"Nine thousand and twenty."

"Over nine thousand... I still remember when we had barely two hundred." He wrote down the number, pushing the tip deep into the page as he traced the writing again. "Also, I need pens. These are out of ink."

"Yes sir."

The phone rang, and Cave growled as he picked it up. "Probably those damn inspectors... Cave Johnson here," he said, tapping his pen impatiently on the desk. "Oh. Well, no wonder you weren't at the party... and you're WHAT? … ...Hold on, lemme ask Caroline." He turned to me. "Caroline, could you ask the bean counters what would happen if I fired a man in a wheelchair? That one guy from gel development got in a skiing accident over Christmas."

"Ah... sure," I said, blinking. "It's that bad?"

He nodded, then shouted at whoever was on the line. "Well, unless you can find a way to cheaply avoid the staircases in this facility, that's the way it is. Ramps are expensive." He hung up and shuffled his papers around. "I've been trying to find places to take you for dinner," he said. "I hope you didn't forget."

Damn. And here I was hoping he'd be the one to forget. "I hadn't," I said, "but I don't think it's a good idea with the facility so busy..."

"I know you like to work on the weekends, but the rest of us don't," he said. "Though I'm the only one who doesn't have to work on weekends. Wish the rest of the employees would follow your lead. Anyway. I'm sure a Saturday night out won't kill you."

"Err..." My mind buzzed, searching for an excuse of any sort. "It might set back science."

Cave's eyes lit up as his gaze centered on me.

"For you," he said, "science can wait."

I froze.

"Caroline, Mister Johnson!"

We both looked toward the frantic voice, which belonged to a scientist running our way. "One of the test subjects in Shaft 4 is allergic to antimatter, and he was part of the bomb testing," he said as he reached the office door.

"Dammit," Cave said, standing up and storming out of his office. "Those men can fly into space, storm a beach, or bring back the gold, but they can't read the warning signs about common allergens? Let's go, George."

"It's Ned," the scientist said, falling into step with Cave.

"Whatever," he replied. To me, he said, "Get going with those pens, Caroline. I'm going to have a lot of paperwork to do after this..."

"Yes sir," I said, rushing off in the opposite direction. The path to the supply closet took me past a window overlooking Shaft 9, and I stopped to take in the construction of the new enrichment sphere. The builders were making excellent progress, and it would probably be completed before the end of the year. Cave already had plans for another one to be finished next year.

"Shouldn't you be working?"

The caustic voice caught me off guard, and I jumped, dropping my binder. The speaker was a test supervisor, and her expression told me she was displeased with something.

"I just wanted to check the construction," I said, bending to pick up the few papers that'd escaped the pockets in the front and back. "It's looking great."

"Right." She crossed her arms, leering at me with cold eyes. Clearly I was what she was displeased with, although I couldn't fathom why. "You know, you're not the only one Cave's got his eye on."

Ah. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" she scoffed. "I mean there are other women at Aperture than you. And hard as it may be to believe, some of them are even smarter and prettier than you. And they've been here longer than you." She leaned towards me. "So, word of advice? Don't bother."

"Um..." What was I supposed to say to that? "Okay."

"Just thought you'd like a reality check." She straightened her labcoat. "And I'm not the only employee who thinks that, _Caroline_." The venom in her voice as she hissed my name chilled me to the bone as she sauntered off. I gathered the rest of my papers in a hurry and rushed to the supply closet. If I was fast enough, I could beat Cave to his office, leave the pens on the desk, and he wouldn't have to see how much what she'd said bothered me.

I placed the box of pens on Cave's desk and turned to leave just as Cave himself appeared in the doorway. "Sir," I said, shocked, "that was fast."

"False alarm," he said, sitting down. "It was actually milk that he was allergic to. Not quite as deadly." He looked at me fully, and his face fell. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said. "I still need to ask the accountants about-"

"Caroline, don't lie to me. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, sir," I said quickly. I wish I could control my voice better. "I need to get going."

"Caroline," he called after me, but I was gone. I would not, I could not let this impede science... no matter how much it bothered me.

Science couldn't wait.


	11. CS1: Feels Like a Trial

**A/N: Lemme just flag something up here: this chapter isn't told from Caroline's perspective. It's more of a oneshot- err, twoshot, since it continues into the next chapter, but since it takes place in this fic regardless, I stuck it in here to make the story more complete. This also explains the double update. I don't know if I'll do any more chapters like this, but chapter thirteen will be back to Caroline's perspective.  
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**Anyway.**

_Chapter Eleven : Cave's Side Pt. 1: Feels Like a Trial_

Cave didn't know where to take her. Not someplace too fancy- she'd just get angry, and he wanted to avoid that after she'd overreacted at Christmas. But he still wanted to make a point- that he truly valued her dedication to science.

Okay, so that wasn't the only reason. She was pretty, of course. He knew it, and so did everyone else, from the lab boys to the bean counters, and her intelligence only added to that. The women at Aperture knew it too, and they hated her for it. He knew that when she'd been trying not to cry that day in his office after delivering the pens. She hadn't had to explain, though she'd refused to talk about it, but it had been painfully obvious from her face. So he still had to prove she was more than just his assistant in his eyes.

It was difficult- understatement- but eventually, he found a place- not too big or too fancy, and he placed the reservation. It would be a bit of a drive, not that it would matter.

Cave flipped over the sheet he was reading from the lab boys about the blood-gasoline conversions. It wasn't very successful so far, but someone did have their blood oil concentration increase by less than half a percent. Progress.

Caroline was a special woman. She was beautiful, with her long dark hair and eyes that changed depending on the light. Her eyes were brightest and bluest when watching testing or working on the quantum tunneling device, dulling to a forest green as she rushed about the facility, and fading to a muddy brown in the dark. Cave didn't want to think about how long it'd taken him to document that.

She was beautiful, but she didn't seem to realize it. Otherwise she would have her pick of any of the lab boys. Marvin- or was it Martin?- in particular seemed to worship the ground she walked on, and it was no wonder his reports were so messy when she was around. Still, none of them looked at her the way Cave did. He was certain of it.

Cave Johnson was used to getting what he wanted. He'd worked hard for his position, and he wasn't about to lose it anytime soon. And Caroline, in her beauty and dedication, presented the perfect opportunity to keep that power.

She would make a wonderful mother, he mused as he turned his attention to the coal conversion reports. He would marry her, and they would have a son, and he would take over Aperture upon Cave's death. That was how he hoped things would play out. Aperture would stay prosperous in the hands of a Johnson, after all. Cave himself was doing such a great job with the company already, with how high their profits were. It only made sense to want to continue that.

"Sir?" Caroline opened his office door gently. "The accountants say you can't actually fire a man just for being in a wheelchair." She opened her binder and removed two stacks of paper, placing them on his desk. "Here's the latest formula for the new gel, along with each of the team members' reports. And these are the totals of testing aids lost in the last month-"

"Caroline," Cave interrupted, "you're not doing anything tomorrow night."

She blinked, confused.

"It wasn't a question," he explained, taking the papers from her. "I still owe you dinner." She seemed to grimace, but he continued. "It's a bit of a drive, but that's a great excuse to see the countryside. I picked a great place. I'm sure you'll like it. You can come home tonight with me and spend the night so we can make a day trip out of it."

"That sounds great, sir," she said, closing her binder. "Do you have anything else for me, sir?"

Cave's eye twitched. Didn't she want to go out to dinner with him? Married to science indeed. "No," he said, flipping through the testing aid report. "Just make sure you eat something. It looks like you're skipping meals."

Caroline blushed, and Cave knew he'd hit the mark. "Yes sir," she muttered, leaving. Cave sighed as he set the report aside. What he wouldn't give for Caroline to put aside work for one damn second, no matter how much science would be set back. It wouldn't be for long, anyway. Caroline worked so quickly he sometimes wondered if she was using the quantum tunneling device to get around. He wouldn't put it past her. That woman knew how to think with quantum tunnels.

Caroline stayed in her room after dinner. She hadn't said much in her time at Cave's, though he was certainly trying to make conversation.

"I've been asking the lab boys to be more creative with the ideas for extra testing," he'd said at dinner. "Since we have that coffee pot in the waiting area, I thought we could stick something in there and test it along with the repulsion gel in the new science sphere. What do you think?"

"It sounds great, sir," Caroline replied, staring at her food.

"You know I value your opinion, Caroline."

"Yes sir."

Cave was at a loss at what to make of this. Maybe taking her out to dinner wasn't such a good idea. But what else could he do? He knew she deserved the best, and he was it. He just needed to make her see it, her modesty be damned. Besides, he'd made reservations. He wasn't about to let that money go to waste.

So he went to sleep and dreamed of the future of Aperture Science, where science marched on under a new Johnson.


	12. CS2: The Way You Trouble Mine

_Chapter Twelve: Cave's Side Pt 2: The Way You Trouble Mine_

"Sir," Caroline said weakly as Cave turned a corner quickly, "do you think you could slow down? Just a little?"

Cave glanced at her pale face out of the corner of his eye as he sped around a slow moving car in front of him. "We're making great time," he answered, putting more pressure on the gas pedal. "I told you it'd be a bit of a drive. Just enjoy the ride."

"Yes sir," she responded, but she didn't look convinced.

"We're almost there anyway," he added, pointing at a bundle of lights on the horizon that were lighting up as the sun went down. "That's the town where the place is. I'm sure you'll love it."

"Yes sir."

"How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to call me 'sir' outside of Aperture?"

"I'm sorry, sir."

Cave laughed, and Caroline smiled weakly. "Guess I'll just have to endure it," he said, and she nodded.

The town was small and quaint, lined with identical streetlamps that lit the road as they headed toward the restaurant. Cave turned into the parking lot, watching Caroline press her face to the window to get a good look at the place.

"This looks expensive," she said flatly.

"Don't worry about it," Cave said dismissively as he parked the car. "This is a reward, Caroline, not a punishment."

"Yes sir."

Cave offered his arm as they got out of the car, and Caroline hesitantly took it, to Cave's delight. They strolled inside, and Cave spoke to the attendant about their reservation. They were taken to a table immediately, much to the displeasure of the walk-ins in the waiting room. Caroline kept her head down as they sat down, and Cave frowned.

"Caroline," he said, "is coming to dinner with me really that terrible?"

Caroline's head jerked up, and she blushed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, sir," she said. "I just don't think I deserve any of this. I know I put in a lot of work, but... this seems a bit much..."

"What do I have to do to convince you that you deserve this?" he replied. "Really."

Caroline fidgeted. "Well... I'm not sure," she admitted. "But... I'm happy just being your assistant, sir. That... That's enough for me."

Her eyes were a dark, piercing blue in this light as she hoped he would understand. And he did, but... Cave leaned back in his chair and opened his menu. "Get whatever you want," he said, flipping over a fold. He hoped the food would be good enough to fix his sour mood.

After the waiter took their orders Cave was at a loss. What was he supposed to say to her _now_? It's not like they could just sit their in awkward silence.

So he tried. He tried to make conversation. He even talked about the weather. But there was no avoiding it- the one thing Caroline would readily discuss was work. Cave sighed inwardly as he tried to entertain her. But it was hard for him. He talked about work with her enough at, well, work. And he loved his work, too, for sure, but there were so many other things he wanted to know about Caroline. He wanted to know about her childhood, about her mother who sang, about her college life, about her hopes and dreams, about her plans for the future. He wanted to know all of it, but all she would talk about was Aperture Science. Cave had to admit, though, that pleased him, that she was so dedicated. She was bringing up some important ideas, after all. But he still wished she would talk about something else. Anything else. Just once.

As the night went on, though, he found himself hooked. He loved to hear Caroline talk about science. There was a soft warmth in her voice whenever she spoke of Aperture, something Cave treasured. How had he gotten so lucky finding her? He remembered when they'd met.

He had seen her at the back of the crowd around him, watching him with bright eyes. She was beautiful, he thought, even in her threadbare dress, and he wondered why she was hanging around the back. As he'd wandered away from the crowd, he'd kept his eye on her, interest rising as she'd followed him, keeping a good distance, until he'd reached the punch bowl. She'd finally gotten close enough to strike up a conversation.

"So," he'd said, refilling his glass, "any reason you've been following me?"

She'd gone pale as a sheet, and he'd smiled, amused. "Well?"

"I'm very interested in science," she'd muttered, putting little space between the words as she spoke. It was hard for him to understand her at that speed. "Working at your company would be..." She took a deep breath. "My dream job."

"A girl interested in science?" He'd laughed, mostly at his immense luck. A pretty girl like her, interested in science?

"I have a masters degree from this university. In physics. I'm very interested in science." He was in shock. A girl with a diploma in physics. Was this really happening?

"You said that already," he'd pointed out, trying to collect his thoughts. He could use her around the facility. He had to give her a job, and not just any job.

She apologized for bothering him, but he wouldn't have it. He told her about his dilemma. "I haven't started looking at replacements, haven't even posted a job opening in the papers yet even, but if you're interested, I wouldn't have to."

Her eyes went wide, soaking in all the light in the room, turning a navy blue. "I'm more interested in the actual science of the facility..."

Didn't she realize that's what he was offering? He tried to explain, admittedly vaguely, just what went on at Aperture. He cast his hook, and she took it. She'd accepted.

"Cave Johnson, founder and CEO of Aperture Science Innovators. And yours?"

"Caroline. Science enthusiast." Her hand was cold, and he'd tried to warm it.

"Well, Caroline, I think we're going to get along swell."

And now that woman sat across from him, picking at her food and talking about science with a fire he hadn't wholly anticipated. She had never let him down, had always performed her duties flawlessly... Yes, he had been lucky to find her, and lucky to have her still. With any luck, he'd have her in the decades to come. And Aperture would be happy and prosperous, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Caroline," he said as they left the restaurant, "we don't have to do that anymore, if you don't want."

"It's fine," she said softly. "Whatever you want to do, sir."

He started the car, watching her in the corner of his eye as he backed out of the parking space.

"I'll think about it," he said honestly, and they left town.

So maybe Caroline would never understand how he felt about her, and maybe he would never know if she felt the same way. But now he did understand the way she looked at Aperture. To see the facility through her eyes, to know it was the same way he saw it... It was no wonder they were such a good team, because they were both in love with science, and a love that great made it hard to leave room to love anything else.

But maybe, Cave thought as he drove, glancing at Caroline's sleeping form in the passenger seat, maybe that was enough.


	13. Flash Fire

**A/N: Okay, wow. I went through my email the other day and was shocked to realize the sheer volume of people who have favorited or alerted this fic. That... was a lot of messages to go through. Thank you for your support, and, as always, your reviews.**

**Just a heads up: this next tes- err, chapter, involves fire. And burning. And a rather unfortunate test subject. Connect the dots yourself. Anyway.**

_Chapter Thirteen : Flash Fire_

It was early summer, and it was hot underground, meaning quite a bit of power was necessary to keep the air conditioning going. Even still, it was sweltering, and fans were running in almost every office. Cave's was no exception.

"Mister Johnson, here's the report on- oh." He was on the phone as I entered his office and motioned for me to be quiet as he listened to whoever was on the line.

"They're looking into it now," he said. "Then we'll see if it's just as harmful as you say it is." He frowned as he rapped his pen. "There are worse things. Not that I would know. ...We're done here." He turned his eyes to me as he set the phone down. "Is that the asbestos report?"

"Yes sir," I said, handing him the packet.

He flipped to the last page. "Median latency of forty-four point six years," he read. "That's not so bad... Shortness of breath, persistent dry cough, heart stopping..." He dropped it on his desk. "Nothing I haven't already heard from those damn inspectors, and they're the ones who made me- or, 'strongly recommended' me to do this analysis in the first place. And all because we'd trademarked 'Asbestos is harmless!'" He sighed. "I wish they'd stay the hell out of our business, but they've got to be all for safety and impeding science and all that." He tossed the report aside, only to have it thrown back at him from the fan's wind. "Have you finalized the test chamber designs for the new science sphere yet?"

I nodded, pulling a light packet out of my binder. "The engineers made a few adjustments, and I already gave them to the construction crew," I told him. "They're just waiting for your signature."

Cave flipped through the pages with his thumb. "Caroline, you should learn to forge my signature on important papers," he muttered, signing his approval. "I trust you enough to make these kinds of decisions."

"Isn't that illegal?" I knew it was. I just wanted to make sure he knew.

"I pay the bills around here, Caroline. Besides," he grimaced, "apparently there are worse things we can get nailed for here. Damn inspectors..."

I took the packet back and switched it out for another set. "Summaries of the tests in shafts two, five, and eight," I said. "The others are coming later this afternoon."

"Sure," he said, taking the reports. "What about your changes to the quantum tunneling device?"

"The engineers can't get it to work quite right," I muttered, embarrassed. In the months since I went to dinner with Cave, I'd been spending a large amount of time in the labs, helping work on the device. In light of this, he had gotten me a blue and orange rose for Valentine's Day. "The connection between entrances is... warped somehow, so that if you walk through it, you land on your head on the other side."

Cave laughed.

"It really did happen, though. The technician cracked open his skull."

"Tragic," he said solemnly. "But informative! Anyway, has anyone figured out what to do with that toxic stuff piling in the bottom of the test shafts yet?"

"The scientists are working on it," I replied, "but-"

"Sir?" An engineer- Marty- appeared in the doorway. "We got someone's blood to turn to gasoline."

"Completely?" Cave stood up, his eyes alight.

"As far as we can tell."

"Then get a good gallon or so of it, pour it into a car and see if it runs!" Cave grinned. "Let's go watch, Caroline." He grabbed my hand as we walked out the door, and I swear I saw Marty's eye twitch. Or maybe I was just imagining things...

"Um, sir, the human body only has about six quarts of blood," Marty said nervously as we walked. "That's only a gallon and a half."

"He'll be fine," Cave said, waving it off.

"Err. Right," Marty muttered. "Anyway, Steve's got a new way to make the calcium fluorescent. I told him to drop the papers off in the lab we'll be in so you won't have to make an extra trip."

"That's for the coffee, right? For the new science sphere?" Cave asked.

"Yes sir."

"So if we have a success with the gasoline," I said, "has there been any progress with the coal?"

Marty's eyes lit up, but he shook his head. "We've been getting some diamonds, though."

"Useless," Cave said dismissively. "Diamonds aren't fuel."

"Well, they do have a wide range of industrial applications," Marty said.

"True. They work well in the tests in shaft 5," I agreed.

"Except that four out of five of test subjects get crushed to death by them falling on them every day," Marty added.

"Testing hazard," Cave said. "That shaft's all about avoiding falling objects. You never know what could fall from the sky while you're in the shower, and we've got to make sure of that when making curtains."

We reached the office, where a test supervisor I vaguely recognized was standing with a clipboard near an examination table. On that was the test subject in question, who bore an expression somewhere between wary and excited.

"I hear your blood is pure gasoline!" Cave told the test subject, taking the clipboard from the test supervisor. The woman glanced at me, which quickly turned into a prolonged glare, and I realized she was the one who told me to give up on Cave. I looked away, trying to read the clipboard over Cave's shoulder. He gave it back to her too quickly for me to gain anything useful, and I had a sneaking suspicion he hadn't really read it.

"That's what they tell me," the test subject said guardedly, following something behind me with his eyes.

"I already took a sample," the test supervisor said smoothly. "Marty's working with it now." I looked behind me to see him running around with a vial, which I assumed was filled with the man's gasoline blood.

"Janice, can you get the train?" he asked, pouring the vial into a small tank.

"It's on the counter next to the centrifuge," the test supervisor replied, and I could feel her cold stare still on me. So that was her name.

"Got it." Marty clambered over to another table in the wide room, sticking a small toy train labeled with the Aperture logo on the tracks circling the surface. Cave, Janice, the test subject, and I followed him. To me, he handed a stack of papers, and I read the cover page for Steve's fluorescent calcium report.

"So, here we go," Marty said nervously, and he turned the train on. It sputtered for a moment, then chugged itself around the track at a slow but steadily accelerating rate. I opened my binder and jotted down a few notes as Cave laughed.

"I love it when stuff goes right around here," he said. The train slowly came to a stop right in front of the test subject. "Why don't you keep that as a souvenir?" Cave suggested. "You can tell everyone you were the first success story for your test."

The test subject's hand hovered over the train hesitantly, unsure if he should do so, but he gripped his fingers around the train's roof. His hand instantly caught fire, and it quickly spread up his arm and across the rest of his body as he screamed.

"Dammit," Cave muttered, running toward the intercom, while Marty repeatedly shouted, "STOP DROP AND ROLL! STOP DROP AND ROLL!"

Janice and I, meanwhile, both immediately headed toward the fire hose. She got to it first, grabbing it fiercely out of my grasp as I reached for it with a smug grin. She ran back and thoroughly doused the test subject, who fell to the floor, twitching. She leaned down and felt for a pulse.

"So, he's alive," she said calmly. "...Somehow."

"Good thinking with that," Cave said. He hit the speaker button. "Cave Johnson here. We need a stretcher in shaft nine. We've got a case of spontaneous human combustion that may or may not have resulted from testing." He took his hand off the button and motioned for me. "Come on, Caroline. Jill, Marvin, and the med team can clean this up."

"It's Janice."

"It's Martin."

"Right. We're done here."

I followed my boss out the door, keeping my gaze straight ahead. I didn't want to see Janice's self-righteous smirk.


	14. It Makes a Happy Face

**A/N: So even though I only have a _part_-time job, I still somehow manage to get _full_-time hours. And they were morning shifts, and since I do most of my writing late at night, progress has been especially slow. I apologize. Anyway.  
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_Chapter Fourteen : It Makes a Happy Face_

The new testing sphere was finished quickly and filled with my tests. It opened near the end of summer, and the first test subjects ran through it on Labor Day. Cave and I watched from an office inside, and he recorded his messages as he announced them over the loudspeaker. Below us, the test subject landed neatly into the second chamber, not using the normal entrance I'd planned.

"Ha! I like your style!" Cave commended. "You make up your own rules, just like me. Bean counters said I couldn't fire a man for being in a wheelchair. Did it anyway. Ramps are expensive!"

"Subject performed admirably on the first test," I said, making a few notes. "Hopefully this will continue."

"These men are the best and brightest," Cave said proudly. "I have no doubts."

The subject looked at the pipe in the room with confusion before shooting a hole under it and placing the other directly in front of him, splattering himself with the gel. He blinked, then laughed as he tried to shake the gel off, then the laughs slowly turned to screaming.

"Dammit." Cave turned on the loudspeaker. "What did I tell you about getting covered in repulsion gel? DO NOT GET COVERED IN REPULSION GEL!"

"I don't think he participated in the previous sphere's tests," I said.

Cave sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Can someone get this astronaut, war hero, and/or Olympian a hose? And get the ASPQTD off him first. We're not losing another one to water damage!"

Two testing supervisors ran into the chamber, one ripping the ASPQTD off the subject's back and the other holding a firehose. He sprayed the subject full blast as soon as the device was safely out of harm's way. The subject staggered as the water hit him, washing the blue gel away and diluting it to the point that it disappeared entirely. The supervisor turned off the hose and left the subject to twitch nervously on the ground.

"The Aperture Science Test Subject Emergency Treatment Crew will be here shortly to fix what remains of your skeleton," Cave told him as I hit the emergency call button. "Once you get yourself cleaned up a bit, we'll be happy to welcome you back to finish the test and participate in other spheres." He turned to me. "Caroline, tell the lab boys to send in another test subject."

"Yes sir." I hit a button in front of me that alerted the test associates at the start. "We really need to fix that problem with the gel."

"Lab boys are working on it. Besides, this gives us another opportunity to test the Aperture Science Replacement Skeleton Plastic." Cave turned his attention to the next subject as his message played.

"_All these science spheres are made of asbestos, by the way. Keeps out the rats. Let us know if you feel a shortness of breath, a persistent dry cough or your heart stopping. Because that's not part of the test. That's asbestos. Good news is, the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show a median latency of 44.6 years, so if you're thirty or older, you're laughing. Worst case scenario, you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face."_

"I'm still a little curious as to just how your calculator makes a happy face from that," I said.

"Like this!" He punched a few numbers into the adding machine on the desk, then showed me the result. 83. "Turn your head a little," he advised.

I tilted my head. "That's what you call a happy face?"

"Close enough."

"Wait, how did you even get-"

"_Ha ha! I like your style!"_

We both looked into the test chamber when the message started, where the Aperture Science Test Subject Emergency Treatment Crew had arrived and was taking the subject away. They were gone by the time Cave's recording finished.

"_Ramps are expensive! -Ha ha! I like your style!"_

The next test subject had reached the second chamber. Cave laughed. "Good thing Mister Speedster there didn't see that last guy," he commented. "Hopefully this one won't douse himself with liquid death."

This test subject performed well, figuring out the solution rather quickly. As he reached the exit, Cave's eyes widened. "Forgot to tell them..." He turned on the speaker. "Just a heads up, that coffee we gave you earlier had fluorescent calcium in it so we can track the neuronal activity in your brain. There's a slight chance the calcium could harden and vitrify your frontal lobe. Anyway, don't stress yourself thinking about it." The test subject instantly seemed to panic, putting his hands on his forehead as his eyes widened. "I'm serious," Cave said tersely. "Visualizing the scenario while under stress actually triggers the reaction."

The test subject suddenly collapsed, a trickle of blood stemming from his nose. Cave frowned as he stopped recording but kept the speaker on. "Can we get the Aperture Science Test Subject Emergency Treatment Crew back in here?" he announced.

"Are you really going to keep that as the exit message?" I asked.

"Well, I doubt that'll happen every time," he said, shrugging. "Better to know than be left in the dark and all." He stood up and stretched. "Are you hungry? I was going to get lunch."

I shook my head. "I'll be fine watching the testing."

"That's what the supervisors are for," Cave said, waving off my response. "Besides, there are other things to get done than watch tests." He paused. "Unless you _want_ to watch tests..."

I smiled.

"Fine," he allowed, "but I'm bringing you lunch."

"That sounds fair, sir."

Cave left as the opening message played a third time. _"All these science spheres are made of asbestos, by the way..." _I watched the tests eagerly, taking as many notes as I could. By the time Cave returned I'd filled two pages of observations from one test subject.

"Caroline, are you writing a novel?" Cave joked as he set down the brown paper bag. "That man hasn't even gotten to the second chamber yet."

"Really?" I looked back down at the subject. "Oh. Well."

"Wish the lab boys took that many notes." He read over my shoulder. "Good God, Caroline. How do you do it?"

"It's just science, sir."

He ran a hand through my hair aimlessly as he flipped the page over. "Make sure you eat. You can spend the rest of the day here, if you want. I'll get someone else to run my messages around today."

I smiled. "Thank you, sir."

He grinned, slightly lopsided. It was endearing, and I couldn't believe I'd never noticed it before. "Don't have too much fun," he said as he left.

"I'll try, sir."

I spent the rest of the day on the edge of my seat watching tests, recording results, and making more than a few calls for the Aperture Science Test Subject Emergency Treatment Crew. At the end of the day, I felt great.

I loved science.


	15. Warning

**A/N: Anyone else wonder how Aperture got astronauts to participate in testing when the first man didn't get into space until 1961? Me too. I'm assuming in the Portal/Half-Life universe, they got to space a lot sooner. Or something. But that's what I'm assuming.**

**In other news, my 1950s style Aperture Science shirt came in the mail the day I posted the last chapter. Thanks, Valve Store! So that's interesting.**

**Anyway.**

_Chapter Fifteen: Warning_

I brought reports from the new enrichment sphere nearly every day because of the sheer volume of the papers. When tests were this new, the reports tended to be long, and as the sphere aged, they'd get shorter, with nothing new to report. Cave didn't read the entirety of most of them, leaving that to the lab boys.

"But I can tell these are great tests, Caroline," he said, flipping through another stack. "I think you should design next year's repulsion gel testing. Hell, design all the chambers for all the spheres!"

"Ohhh," I laughed. "Mister Johnson."

"I know. You have more than enough to do." He grinned as he stood up. "Anyway, can you watch the office? I have a meeting with the bean counters. Something about the asbestos again."

"Yes sir." I sat down in the chair I usually sat in, the one that faced him across the desk. He laughed.

"This isn't going to be a short meeting, Caroline," Cave explained. "It'll take up most of the day. You're sitting in my chair."

He gestured toward the empty seat with a flourish. "Go ahead."

"Err... all right." I sat down, awed at how comfortable it was. How did he not fall asleep in this chair? I instantly felt more relaxed.

"It'd be nice if you organized all that," he said, sweeping a hand over the mess cluttering the desk. I wondered how he could stand that.

"Yes sir. Have fun at your meeting."

He took a quick glance at his pocketwatch, frowning at the time he saw. "I'll try. I was supposed to be there ten mintues ago. Good thing I pay the bills around here." He stuck it back in his pocket and took off, leaving me alone with his mess.

I started by organizing the papers into stacks based on what department they concerned. Lab reports in one pile, bills in another, and so on, then sorting those based on test shaft and importance. With the papers clear, I surveyed what was left on his desk. Stapler goes in the corner next to the tape, pens go in the cup, and trash goes in the wastebasket. I looked over my handiwork with satisfaction. That wasn't so hard. I started into the drawers.

I sorted through the left side first. The top drawer another jungle of papers, and the bottom two drawers held a similar wilderness. I sighed heavily, more glad than ever that I would have all day to finish. Half of the pages were crumpled and torn, and I looked at the dates out of curiosity. Lab reports from 1954... break schedules from 1953... payroll from 1950... wow. The bottom drawer held a test subject registry from 1948. It was just a single sheet, front and back, and I smiled at how much the company had grown since then. This year's registry was no less than fifty pages, and we were still adding to it. Next year's was already looking to reach seventy-five.

There were other things than papers, though, including a rather rusty flashlight and several Aperture branded keychains. Of course, everything here wore the Aperture logo somewhere, from the chocolate and mint wrappers buried at the back of Cave's middle drawer to myself, I mused, putting a hand to my necklace.

Time to start on the right side. It held more of the same- outdated papers, miscellaneous misplaced office supplies, crumpled wrappers and dust. I put everything I found in its proper place, cleaning out all the drawers with a damp rag just in case. Finally, I turned my attention to the center drawer.

This one was special. It was the one Cave used the most often, where he shoved all his most important things. I hesitated. It seemed wrong, somehow, to go through this drawer. I knew Cave trusted me to organize his desk, but going into the center drawer seemed like a breach of privacy. Besides, I reasoned, if he went in it so often, he would have it organized well enough, right? I remembered what the surface of his desk looked like, dashing any hope of _that _away.

I sighed and opened the center drawer.

I was pleasantly surprised at how tidy it was, but the objects there gave me a more jolting shock. There was a neat stack of receipts on the left, all of which listed items currently in my possession- the dresses, the necklace (huh, it did cost as much as the pocketwatch), even the dinner. The handheld recorder was placed neatly in the center, while the right side was a photograph that made me gasp.

It was a picture of Cave and I from the countdown party, the image I'd seen in my head hundreds of times. But there it was, in black and white, preserved perfectly. It matched the picture in my head, except the version in my head was in color.

I still couldn't take my eyes off it.

I don't know how long I sat there, mesmerized by the image, but eventually I was startled by the phone ringing. I shoved the photo back into its proper place, slamming the drawer shut. I glanced at the clock as I picked it up, noting that Cave would likely be back soon. The work day was almost over, but he always returned to his office before he left the facility.

"Caroline of Aperture Science," I answered. "Who is this?"

"Where is he?" The female voice on the line was taut with worry, speaking in a rush.

"Mister Johnson? He's in a meet-"

"Not that bastard, although I'll give him a piece of my mind eventually. No," she said, almost hysterical, "my husband. The astronaut."

Must've been a test subject. "I can check the registry-"

"I don't want to hear that again!" she screeched, making me jump. "They say that every time! And then I wait an hour and a half, only for them to tell me there's no one by that name registered, maybe I'm mistaken? But I'm NOT, dammit, I'm not!"

Gripping the phone between my head and shoulder, I walked over and grabbed the thick binder off the shelf. "Just calm down, please," I said reasonably, flipping through the pages of the registry. "Can I get his name?"

"Those damn receptionists keep telling me I'm crazy," she hissed before her tone turned mocking. "'There's no one by that name listed in the registry. Maybe you're mistaken?'" She laughed harshly. "You're right, I've been married to an invisible man for ten years, and we have three imaginary children, and it's just a coincidence that he happens to be one of America's greatest heroes, and that he went to your damn facility and never came back!" Another laugh, this one having a hint of madness. "So this time, I decided to go for Mister See-ee-oh himself to get my answers. And believe me, I am going to get some answers. For the love of God, I am going to get some damn answers."

I was speechless. Something was very wrong here.

"Caroline, I hope that desk is spotless, or I'm-" Cave took in my shocked expression with concern. "Who's on the phone."

His voice was flat, the question sounding more like a statement with the chill in his tone. I handed the phone to him wordlessly.

"Cave Johnson here." He listened, his face set in stone. "Well, if he's not in the registry, there's not much I can do for you... Everyone's listed in there, I promise... You don't think we don't double check everything? We're not banging rocks together here. We know how to keep accurate records. ...She is _not _a receptionist. She's my assistant. ...Sorry, that's all I can tell you. ...Of course I'm being serious! ...We're done here." He slammed the phone down, his face still expressionless.

"What was that all about, sir?"

"Nothing," he said, as if nothing was really wrong, despite all evidence to the contrary. He quickly regained his typical charm. "The desk looks great, Caroline. Could you get me some coffee?"

"The work day is practically over-"

"You're right." He scratched his head absently. "Some liquor?"

I tried not to flinch. Cave _never _drank at work. It was unheard of, and the fact that he was asking for something so strong confirmed for me that something was really wrong here. "Yes sir," I muttered, ducking out of the office. I tried to get Cave's cold, hard face as he spoke to that woman on the phone out of my head.

I knew the tests were dangerous. I knew people had died during the tests. All the test subjects knew what they were getting into. It was in a large, boldfaced paragraph at the top of the waiver form that I knew by heart.

_Aperture Science Innovators is not and cannot be held legally responsible for any and all damages to your person during the course of testing, up to and including death. In light of this, it is recommended that you have your will in order and filed before signing in case of any complications due to testing. Rest assured that Aperture will also take as many steps as financially reasonable to make amends in the event that your injury can be cured by another testable Aperture product. If not, refer to the first sentence._

The rest of their contract was unintelligible legal babble giving us near invincibility in a lawsuit, but that first paragraph summed up everything nicely. Every test subject read it. The interviewers, the receptionists, the test associates... they all made sure the volunteers knew the possibilities before the tests actually started. They were never quite fully prepared considering what they went through, but legally, it was enough of a warning. They knew what they were getting into... didn't they? That woman sounded like she had no idea what had happened to her husband, and judging by Cave's reaction, he didn't want to say what it was. Something was up.

What was he not telling me?


	16. Hint of Things to Come

**A/N: Don't worry, Doug Rattmann will have his time. And no points for guessing what happened to the astronaut.**

**Also, VOLUME 2 OF THE SOUNDTRACK. Please tell me I'm not the only one obsessed with the music in this game. (Then again, I get obsessed with the music in every game I play.) I AM NOT A MORON! is probably the best thing ever, followed by (defun botsbuildbots () (botsbuildbots)) and PotatOS Lament.**

**So, just a heads up: this fic is going to be rather long. I mean, 16 chapters and the timeline hasn't hit the 60s yet? Yeah. I have high hopes that I'll finish it, though. Stick with me. Progress has just been slow because it's a holiday weekend and it's busy at work. This is what I get for working at a travel plaza. Here's my advice: Don't work at one. Ever. Trust me.**

**Apologize for the needlessly long note. Anyway.**

_Chapter Sixteen: Hint of Things to Come_

I knocked on the open door of the Steve's office to let him know I was there, and he waved me in. I nodded to Marty as I entered and sat down in a chair by thetable in the corner.

"I bet you're excited to see what this is," Steve said, drawing a roll of paper out of the long tube he held. "I don't think you'll be disappointed."

He laid the rolled paper on the table and pushed it open, with Marty catching the other side when it was completely unfurled. The blueprints took up the entire lab table, even though the object detailed would only be about the size of a paperback novel. I scanned the specs in disbelief.

"And you want to stick this into somebody's skull?" I asked. "How is it going to fit?"

"Well, the idea is to shrink it down a bit before we start mass production," Steve explained, scratching his head. "Maybe more like the size of an postcard?"

"It's practically that size already, just thicker," I pointed out. "Are you sure you can't make it any smaller?"

"Not without sacrificing some of the features," Marty said. "And we're conserving space enough already."

"The first one we built has a tendency to overheat," Steve added. "Absolutely fried the brain of the guy we stuck it in. He's fine now, though, since we gave him a new one from storage, although he can't say what two and two equals and also thinks he drives cabs for a living even though he was a gold medalist from the last Olympics, but other than that he's fine."

Storage. Right. It was one of the clauses in the legal contract. _In event of your death, Aperture is entitled to harvest any and all useful parts from your body before returning it to your dependents. _Not that the process was entirely sound, as many of the things we salvaged deteriorated quickly, especially the brains.

I must not have looked convinced, because Marty quickly put in, "We'll work on the overheating thing. Maybe give it a warning system or something."

"Not to worry, Caroline," Cave said, coming up behind me and patting my shoulder, making me jump. "This microchip is the future! We're going to be using it in that new science sphere next year."

I glanced at the wall clock. "Sir, don't you have a meeting with the test associate leads right now?" I asked.

"That's tomorrow."

I opened my binder and showed him a sticky note.

"Oh. Well, it probably wasn't anything interesting. Anyway, what do you think of it?"

I looked back down at the blueprints. "It looks great," I said. "I just don't know how I feel about putting it in someone's head."

"Don't be," Cave reassured me. "They probably won't even know it's there."

"That's true," Marty agreed. "Before his brain fried, that guy didn't even think we put it in there. He just thought he had a fever."

"He was wrong," Steve muttered. "Anyway, sir, we've also got a rough outline of the plans for the superconductor, if you want to see those too."

"Of course I do! Get them out!"

"Yes sir," Steve said, returning to the shelf.

As much as I shared Cave's enthusiasm, I still hadn't shaken the sound of the astronaut's wife out of my head. Sometimes I had myself convinced that she was just crazy, and that Cave wanted alcohol because he was just tired of listening to crazy people. But then I would have another nightmare of zombie astronauts attacking me, and I wouldn't be able to sleep well for another week.

And I still didn't know just what the hell was going on.

Steve rolled out the superconductor blueprints, outlining the vital features of the superconductor and pointing to the components. Cave nodded vaguely as I inspected the blueprints with a more critical eye. Everything seemed to check out, though, except...

"This requires an incredible amount of power," I noted.

"Well, yeah..." Steve scratched his head awkwardly. "In all honesty, it takes up the whole amount of power it takes to run the facility."

Cave's expression instantly soured. "Are you saying we would have to devote the entire power grid to run this thing?"

Aperture was _huge_, and it currently ran mostly on geothermal power and partly from experimental potato power from the botanical labs. The research there had garnered several awards yet had very little to show for it as of late. It wasn't a place I visited often, either, so I had no idea what they did down there.

"Yes sir," Steve said, but hastily added, "but only for as long as you want to run it. Ten minutes should be a long enough exposure, in my opinion."

Cave crossed his arms. "Caroline?"

Right, he wanted my opinion. "Taking the entire facility's power offline for even a minute during operational hours leaves several thousand employees and test subjects in the dark and costs the company a figure with six or seven digits." One of us had to listen to the financial advisors, and since Cave didn't pay any attention to them, it fell to me.

He considered. "It's going to be damn expensive, but as long as it's for science... What do you think it'll do, anyway?"

"No idea," Marty said with a shrug.

"Superpowers?" Cave's voice was excited.

"Or tumors..." Steve muttered. "You'll probably want to talk to the bean counters about that."

Based on the plans in front of me, I was betting tumors. But with how much we threw science at the wall around here, gaining superpowers was just as reasonable. I guess I could make bets with the accountants on that, as they enjoyed betting on how risky new experiments would be.

"What's the date on the superconductor, then?" I asked.

"Late 1959. Two more years," Marty said. "Building it isn't going to be cheap either."

"But I knew that. Nothing about science is cheap," Cave said. "That's why we make money from shower curtains. Anyway, Caroline, let's get lunch while these lab boys get back to work."

As we passed through the doorway, Richard, another of the engineers, almost ran into us.

"Mister Johnson, Caroline," he exclaimed, straightening a rather thick stack of papers. "Perfect. Great to see you. I've got a good fifteen or so reports to give you, including the latest coal notes and formula for the gel, and also, based on looking through Don's notes, we might have a way to get the repulsion gel to stop eating the human skeleton, and also-"

His papers flew out of his hands, showering the ground with white pages. Steve sighed behind us.

"Don's not in again today," he explained.

"Who?" Cave asked.

"The lead engineer," I filled in as I helped pick up Richard's papers. "He's using the vacation hours he's built up over the past decade or so."

"Oh." Cave shook his head. "Hurry up, Raymond. I don't pay you to drop things."

"It's Richard."

"Sure."

Richard finished picking everything up and gave me the appropriate papers I needed, and we left.

"Thank God," Cave said as we reached the cafeteria. "I was starting to get sick of their accents."

I laughed, but only slightly. Both Steve and Richard were British, and personally, I found their accents endearing. But maybe it was just me.

"So," Cave continued, "what do you think of that microchip? Genius, right? Greatest thing the engineers have thought up yet."

"Yes sir."

"It's the future, Caroline." His voice was optimistic. "Computers and that sort of thing."

"The future," I repeated, thinking about it. "I still think I like the quantum tunneling device better."

He laughed. "I knew you would."


	17. The Bond

**A/N: Are there really seventy-five reviews for this? Wow. You are all awesome and you make me happy with your support. And also guilty that it took me so long to get this up. I've had writer's block and didn't want to post anything I wouldn't be proud of. So, apologies.**

**Also, go read my other fic. Do it. Please. /shameless advertisement**

**Anyway.**

_Chapter Seventeen: The Bond_

December brought another winter getaway at Cave's castle, which I was again pressured into accepting. I wandered downstairs after a long night's sleep to see him sitting at the table, drinking coffee and sorting through a large box of small index cards.

"Good morning, sir," I said, sitting down across from him.

"Good afternoon," he replied, pointing at the clock. Five after one. "Using the holidays to catch up on sleep?"

"I guess so." I rubbed at my eyes, hoping I looked less tired than I felt. I really needed to go to sleep earlier. "I'll work on it."

"Don't bother. I figured out how to make my own coffee." He raised his mug triumphantly, flashing a smile.

I raised an eyebrow, noticing something. "No, you didn't," I guessed. "You had one of the servants make it."

His face fell. "How'd you know?"

I shrugged. I was usually really bad at reading people, but I was slowly learning how to read Cave. "Just a hunch. What's in the box?"

"Suggestions." He turned the box toward me. "I usually go through them on weekends, but I've been putting it off since the new sphere opened." He shook it. "This is a quarter of three months worth from shaft six alone."

I picked one up at random. _"I want a refund."_ I frowned. "That doesn't even make any sense. We donate the funds to charity."

"Half of these don't make sense." He grabbed a handful and gave them to me. "But they're still good for a laugh."

I started reading.

_I've been in the line of fire more than a few times, and yet none of it compared to how deadly these tests are. I'd rather be back in Europe. Or was I in Asia? Shit. I was never good at science in school._

_Less deadly tests._

That seemed a little unfair. No one was forcing them to fall into pits. No one was even forcing them to participate in the tests. It was strictly voluntary.

_Okay, so the science you people do is amazing, but I hate these tests. What are you even testing?_

_These tests are fun and all, but why are there so many opportunities to die? Isn't that counterproductive?_

_Less deadly tests._

_I would rather run eight marathons in a row on no sleep without water or food than partake in another of your crazy test spheres. But keep up the science. Just... not on me._

"_I think it would be really beneficial if you had less deadly tests," _Cave read from one of his. He sighed. "I thought these men were supposed to be brave." He threw it in the trash. "They all sound like a bunch of sissies." He flipped to another, scowling. "If the tests weren't dangerous, how would they know to take it seriously?"

I shrugged. "I really don't think they're that difficult. Most of the hazards are accurately marked." Like the boxes falling on people's heads. There were clear caution signs for those.

Cave nodded and picked out another one. "I think these got all mixed up. This one is clearly from shaft nine. _Hey, I'm actually a smoker, and you guys let me out with gasoline for blood... So I was wondering if it was okay if I could smoke? I mean, I'm going to anyways, but just so we're all on the same page here. I won't spontaneously combust, right? You guys thought of that, right?" _Cave sighed. "This suddenly explains that thing in the lobby a few weeks ago."

We started sharing back and forth, whenever one of us found a good one.

"_I hope you choake on your own caltrate-leadan cofee. _It was actually calcium that we put in the coffee." I glanced back at the note. "Bonus points for poor spelling."

"_The joke's on you, I stole a piece of the diamond that almost fell on my head and now I'm going to sell it and become even richer than I already am. One day I'll be even richer than you." _He laughed. "The joke's on you, those diamonds disintegrate after ten days. Still don't know why."

"_Even if this persists for more than a week, there is no way you could convince me to come back to your madhouse of science. It's not even science." _I frowned. "How could anyone not consider these tests science?"

"I don't know, Caroline. I'll never understand it."

It seemed that almost none of the test subjects who left suggestions understood science. Many of the cards held similar insults. There were some positive ones, yes- retention rate for test subjects was ninety-five percent- but the negative were the ones that stuck in my head. I started going as slowly as I could through them just so that I wouldn't have to read too many. Evidently Cave noticed, pushing away what remained of my stack and taking my hand. His grip was warm, comforting, and I forced myself to look up.

"I think I forgot to show you someplace last year," he told me. "I can finish this myself."

"I'm fine," I insisted, but I didn't even believe myself. Cave sure didn't, and he laughed slightly.

"Caroline. Come on."

He held my hand the entire way, but I hardly paid attention to where we were going. My head was too filled with the angry threats written on the comment cards. Suddenly he put his hands over my eyes, and walked me into a room.

"Ready?" His tone was hopeful as he removed his hands.

We were in a room lined with bookshelves, all of them stocked to the limit, and equipped with a ladder for the higher up ones. I took in all in with a gasp.

"It's not as impressive as Aperture's," he said, "but I figured it was enough."

I didn't know what to say. "This is... It's..." I turned toward him. "Thank you."

He grinned. "Anything to see you smile again."

I blushed, unable to stop it, and started to walk toward where the science books were, having already scouted it out, but Cave grabbed my arm to stop me.

"You're away from work, Caroline. Try reading a mystery novel or something."

I pouted.

"No buts. Take a break from science. Just _once._"

Just once? But science was all I knew. "I don't know if I can," I whispered, looking down.

Even though I couldn't see his face, I could almost feel his gaze soften. He leaned in closer to me.

"Try," he murmured. I looked back into his dark brown eyes. He was staring at me expectantly, but I didn't know what he wanted. I felt frozen, but I still forced myself to pull away and look for the mystery novels. Cave watched me for a bit, and I thought I heard him sigh before he left me to my devices.

I picked out two Agatha Christie novels and, making sure Cave wasn't in the room any more, a book on quantum physics. Okay, several. A armload, really, but I couldn't resist. The copies in Aperture were always checked out, so I spent the next day reading one while Cave readied the castle for the annual countdown party. Since it was the tenth one, he was determined to make it the best yet, no matter how much money it cost. He wanted the entire place lit up, every corner bearing some sign of holiday cheer, and he was more ruthless with the servants than he was with the lab boys. I just ignored any random crashes and shouts I heard.

And then there was the party itself.

The night progressed much the same as last year, with Cave jumping up on the table with a few minutes to midnight. His speech was basically a recap of the past ten years of Aperture Science, with a minor part about the company's humble beginnings as solely a curtain manufacturer.

"Changing to experimental physics was the best decision I've ever made," he said proudly. "We've all accomplished fantastic things, met amazing people"- his gaze lingered on me for a moment- "and generally bent the world to our will. And I have no doubts that this will continue for decades, if not centuries. Hell, it might even last eons. And it'll be all thanks to you." Everyone cheered, and he raised his glass. "To Aperture Science!"

"TO APERTURE SCIENCE!"

As I drank, I kept my eyes on Cave, glad he hadn't asked me to join him again. This was his moment, celebrating his ten successful years, and there was no way I was worthy enough to be at his side here.

When the count dropped to zero and the new year arrived, Cave jumped down to give me another kiss on the cheek.

"You know, Caroline, if you'd been here since 1947, I'd probably be a trillionaire right now instead of just a millionaire," he told me fondly.

"I doubt it," I said. "You did this, sir. This is your success, and this is your night to celebrate. Don't worry about me."

"Caroline, I hired you to be my assistant," he said, wrapping his arm around my waist. "And that means that when I want you at my side, you'll be there, no matter whether you think you're worthy enough or not. Those are the terms of our relationship."

"Professionally?" My voice sounded very small.

He smirked. "Yes."

He took my arm, and as we walked around together, I realized that Cave Johnson himself was a huge reason of why I loved Aperture so much, almost as much as the science itself. He was amazing, and it was an honor to serve him. I was so sure that I knew my place, and it was at his side.

But then...

Once the party had ended, I had another nightmare about zombie astronauts, and doubts clouded my mind as I returned to work. As much as I trusted and respected him, did he have the same trust and respect for me?

**A/N: I ran the numbers. Ninety-five percent retention leaves five percent who, well, leave. Five percent of 9020 is ~450, which is still a pretty high number. And since most of the people who leave comments are people who are angry or dissatisfied in some way- it adds up.**


	18. Plans and Requests

**A/N: Oh hey, look. I'm not dead. And neither is this fic.**

**But seriously, I sincerely apologize. Things have been... rough. If this isn't enough of a fix for you, I've written two other Portal fics that you should probably check out. Additionally, chapters 19-21 are already sketched out so hopefully we're looking at a shorter gap till the next one. I've also been toying around with other ideas for other fics... Anyway.**

_Chapter Eighteen: Plans and Requests_

"This is a big day, Caroline," Cave told me excitedly as we neared the testing room. "Mantis men."

"Yes sir," I agreed. "Just injections today, right?"

"And then they sit around until the science kicks in," Cave finished. "No idea how long that'll take. The control group was a bunch of mantises that we injected with mantis DNA. Didn't do a damn thing, but that's the point of a control group."

Sometimes I wondered if Cave really knew how science worked.

There was already a line of men near the room, and Cave greeted them amiably. As he put his hand on the doorknob, a blue blob flew over his head, boucing off and back to where it came from. The color alone might've been cause for concern, but when combined with that behavior...

"Is that repulsion gel?" Cave barked, turning around. At the end of the hallway we'd just walked down stood a few of the engineers. One in the front- Richard- held a blue ball in his hands. "What the hell are you doing? You know that stuff's dangerous."

"Not anymore," Richard replied, throwing it at the floor and letting it bounce back into his hand. "Perfectly safe."

"Let me see," Cave said, still wary as he reached out his hand. Richard bounced it toward him, and Cave caught it easily. He bounced it downward hard, letting it bounce back and forth between the ceiling and floor for a few moments before catching it again. "No more calls to the Aperture Science Test Subject Emergency Treatment Crew for bones getting eaten away?"

Richard suddenly looked nervous. "Err... yeah."

"Excellent." He turned to me. "Catch," he said simply, tossing it to me gently. Unfortunately, my reflexes weren't quite fast enough, and the ball went bouncing everywhere up and down the hallway. Several of the test subjects tried to catch it, laughing, and one of them finally did, smiling triumphantly as the rest of them applauded appreciatively.

"Good job, test subject! I can tell you'll make a fine mantis man!" Cave said, clapping along with everyone else. "Assuming that's what happens in this test. No idea if that's true yet. So it's about time to get started, and you can be first." Cave opened the door as the man headed to the front of the line, bouncing the blue ball as he walked. Cave suddenly frowned as the man went inside.

"Caroline, I forgot my coffee in the office. Could you go get it for me?"

"Yes sir, Mister Johnson," I said quickly, starting off. Halfway down the hall, he called my name again. I turned around to see the ball coming back at me, and I caught it without thinking. The men in line clapped, and Cave laughed.

"That's more like it," he said with a grin. "Get going."

"Yes sir."

The only engineer who remained at the end of the hallway was Richard, and he seemed to be waiting for me. He gave me an uneasy smile as he fell into step beside me.

"So, we haven't actually replaced the current deadly gel with the new not-so-deadly stuff," he explained. "And it's still important that nobody swallows any. It's practically an instant stomach tumor. Also, we're pretty sure the gel should remain virtually preserved in a liquid state for up to five hundred years."

"Five hundred years?"

"You know how Mister Johnson gets. Everything in the facility can last at least two hundred years."

It was one of Cave's goals, to apocalypse-proof the facility. "Rome wasn't built in a day," he would say, "and neither was Aperture. So since Rome has endured till now, why shouldn't Aperture last that long?" Plus, it made for great science. Getting things to survive past their natural expiration date was a tricky business.

"Yes, but that's the longest life expectancy of anything we've invented," I I said, smiling. "If only we could get everything in the facility to last that long."

Richard shrugged. "It'll probably happen. Maybe even within the next decade. I'm foreseeing a lot of science then."

"There's always a lot of science here."

"Of course," he agreed. Then, hesitantly, "Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"No." And I never would.

He laughed. "I'm not surprised. If anything, I'm kind of jealous." He sighed. "I've got a lot to get done, with Don not here. He's thinking of retiring, you know. Has Mister Johnson mentioned anything?"

"No." Which wasn't really surprising, when Cave could barely keep everyone's names straight, even the more important ones. "Why? Were you interested in the position?"

"Not on your life. Too stressful, and I've got my hands full enough with my own work." He considered. "Steve would do it though. I'd bet money on it."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Richard and I split off then, but I picked up another two on my way back from Cave's office. He'd left his coffee where he always left it- on top of recommendations from the accountants.

"Caroline! Perfect."

Marty's voice caught me off guard, and I almost dropped Cave's coffee. I looked at the three people heading toward me, recognizing them quickly. Todd was one of the engineers working on the quantum tunneling device- he was actually the one who'd bashed in his skull testing out the revisions to it last year. The other was Georgia, one of the chemists who'd been working on new gel formulas. The three of them usually hung out with Jim, one of the test designers, and as a result, he was one of the best.

"Hello," I said, wondering what they could want.

"We were just looking for you. See, we were planning on doing something this weekend, and we were kinda wondering if you'd be interested in joining us," Georgia said hesitantly.

"Doing something?" I repeated. "Are you working on something I should know about?"

"I told you she would think that," Todd muttered, and Marty elbowed him.

"A bunch of us are having a night out this weekend," he explained. "You know, scout out some shops, head out to dinner, not work-"

I blinked. "Oh. This again."

This wasn't the first time someone had asked me to join them for an adventure outside of Aperture. Several employees had, and not just the three in front of me, who had already asked several times. Of course, Cave was the only one who had succeeded, and I still had... mixed feelings about how that turned out. Still, the fact remained that I looked forward to weekends as an opportunity to get things done without interruptions, and to give up that time would be letting Cave down.

"I should ask Mister Johnson," I said. "I have work to do this weekend."

They frowned. "You don't have to work on the weekends, Caroline," Georgia pointed out. "He can't force you to."

Why did they always blame Cave? "Still, he expects me to-"

"He doesn't own you," Marty said coldly, and Georgia and Todd each gave him a look that I couldn't read. In any case, I was running out of excuses.

"I'll talk to him," I said noncommittally and walked away. Thankfully, they didn't follow me back to the testing room, where Cave was still waiting.

"Here's your coffee, sir," I said, holding it toward him.

"Thank you," Cave said, sipping it contentedly. "So, Caroline, am I ever going to get those books on quantum physics back?"

I blushed. "Y-yes, sir. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I wasn't doing anything useful with them anyway." He took another sip before setting his mug on a desk. "You missed it. The last guy in here was afraid of needles." He laughed. "Clyde here had to chase him around the room because he was so scared."

"My name's Evan," the test associate put in. "And you didn't even help me..."

"Didn't want to tamper with the experiment. Anyway, it only took twenty minutes to get him to settle down, and only because Clyde offered him cake as a reward." He paused as Evan's scowl deepened. "Maybe we should do that for all the tests. People like cake."

"I thought furthering the cause of science was its own reward," I said.

"Right," he agreed. "Besides, baking is expensive." Cave looked at me as he reached for his coffee and raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

How did he always know? My expression must've given this away, because he then said, "Caroline, you've been in my company for almost two years. I can tell."

"Some of the employees invited me to accompany them for some fun this weekend," I stammered. "But I always say no because I'm so busy..."

He laughed. "Caroline, you deserve a day off now and again. And besides, I don't control what you do on the weekends, no matter how much I value the time you put in. Go have some fun."

"Yes sir," I said. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. You didn't even need to ask."

The door opened unexpectedly, and a receptionist I didn't recognize poked her head in. "Evan? Your brother-in-law called. Your sister's in labor."

Evan's head jerked up. "Really? It's time?" He looked to Cave excitedly. "Sir, can I go? I'm about to become an uncle."

Cave glanced at his watch. "Sure. It's about break time anyway. Caroline, will you find a replacement for him?"

"Yes sir." I left the room with Evan, and we walked together for a while.

"This is my sister's first kid," he told me. "I'm so glad they live nearby. I get to see my first nephew. She's going to name him Douglas." He sighed. "Too bad she married a guy with such a weird last name. I'll see you later, Caroline."

Happy as I was for him, I was too busy thinking about the upcoming weekend to pay much attention to what he was saying. I wanted to be ready. I had plans to make.


	19. Having It Out

**A/N: BAD NEWS EVERYONE! I'm back at college. I thought I could get this out before I went back, but that clearly didn't happen. And I apologize. Sincerely. I've been tardy and occupied, and I am genuinely sorry. But I have a fun tidbit: the elevator in my new res hall talks, and I'm trying to get everyone in the building to call her Caroline. ("Fourth floor." "Thank you, Caroline.")**

**On the bright side, NINETY-TWO REVIEWS! That's almost one hundred (I can do math), and the entire reason I feel so guilty about taking so long to update. Not to mention all the people who have this favorited or alerted... **

**Also, if you've been watching the Portal website as fervently for volume 3 (damn you, Valve time) of the soundtrack as I have, you may have noticed they had an Exile Vilify music video contest. Of particular note is the Caroline entry, which superanth kindly informed me of its existence. It's very nicely well done and relates to this fic quite well, I think. I loved it.**

**Anyway.**

_Chapter Nineteen: Having It Out_

Shopping with friends is not something I usually did. In fact, I was pretty sure I had never actually done it. I had never made many friends in my childhood, and since I never stayed in one place for very long, it wasn't even worth it most of the time to make friends. Why have friends when you have science? Regardless, I had denied them long enough. After all, these were friends who knew about science. I'm sure it would come up in conversation at least once.

There were five of us in the car. Marty was driving. Georgia, a chemist, was in the passenger seat. I was in the back between Randall, one of the accountants, and Carmen, a biologist. There were another five people in the car behind us- Ned, a test associate, was driving. There was also Fran, a receptionist; Todd, an engineer; Jim, a test planner; and Amanda, from data entry.

"Caroline, we're heading up to Elmsbrook today," Georgia said, twisting in her seat to face me. "Have you ever been there?"

"No," I said.

"Ever been anywhere around here? I'm sure you've been to a few places," Carmen said.

"I don't get out much. I don't need to," I said, shrugging. Almost everything I needed was in Aperture. I only went out to buy snacks and toiletries from time to time. I had a weakness for sweets when I worked long hours, which was becoming more and more frequent.

Still, the rest of the people in the car were staring at me. Even Marty looked away from the road long enough to give me a look. I shrugged helplessly.

"Oh, Caroline," Georgia said, "we're going to have to fix that."

I wasn't quite sure if I even wanted them to.

The town was small, but busy- there was quite a crowd on the sidewalks as we parked. I got out of the car with everyone else, putting my hat and mittens on to protect against the bitter February cold. The others were dressed similarly- only Jim wasn't wearing a hat, his brown hair sticking at all angles regardless. Marty was already shivering, to the point that Georgia was laughing at him.

"I'm originally from southern California," he said sourly. "I'm still not used to the cold, okay?"

She was still laughing as we started walking.

"Where to first, ladies?" Jim asked. "Any preferences?"

The female half of the group shook their heads, while my eyes wandered for a bookstore. None on this block.

"There's nothing good on this street," Carmen observed. "Why don't we split up? You guys probably wouldn't be interested in a bunch of department stores anyway."

"It's not our fault you dragged us through the interior decorating section," Todd said, exasperated. "Do you have any idea how dull that is? _For a man?_"

The ladies giggled. "We'll see you later," Fran said, and I followed them across the street toward a different block.

"Where are we going?" I asked, glancing at the storefronts warily.

"The local department store," Amanda explained as we reached the store in question, passing through the revolving door. "It's a pretty nice one, too. It's why I always liked coming up here."

"Where to first?" Carmen asked, stopping the group just inside the door.

"What do you think, Caroline?" Georgia said. "You haven't been here before. You get to pick."

I shrugged, suggesting the book section. They looked surprised for a moment, then smiled.

"You would," Fran noted, leading the way. "I'm not surprised. Although I will warn you, there probably aren't many science books for sale in a department store like this."

She was right, of course. I was sorely disappointed with the selection, reading the summaries of some of the more promising ones.

"I don't understand why so many of these have some sort of love subplot in them," I complained to Georgia. "Can't I just enjoy a good story? Or better yet, some science?"

"Well, you know what they say," she said. "Love makes the world go round and all that." She smiled. "But I'm sure you know all about that, wouldn't you?"

This was news to me. "What?"

"Oh, you know." The smile had spread to her voice. "You and Mister Johnson."

I stared at her. "What?"

"Oh, come on, Caroline..."

"What?"

"Well, it's true, right? Everybody always talks about it..."

"What?"

By now, the rest of the group was staring at me. "Don't tell me you haven't heard any of the rumors about you two?" Carmen asked incredulously.

"No," I said, confused. Office gossip was not high on my list of priorities. "What are people saying about me?"

"Well, besides the fact that you're madly in love..."

I couldn't believe my ears. "_What?_"

"Didn't he take you to dinner once?"

"Yes, but-"

"And you spend the holidays at his house, so-"

"Wait, how did you know-"

"And since it's been practically two years, we were all starting to wonder why you hadn't gotten married yet-"

"_What?_"

"It seemed pretty obvious. Everyone has just naturally assumed that there was something going on between you two," Georgia summed up. "Right?"

I didn't know where to start. "I'm his assistant," I began. "I do a lot of work for him. It's only natural that he would want to show his appreciation for me."

"By taking you out to dinner?" Amanda laughed. "That's not something a man suggests lightly, Caroline."

"But I didn't even want to go," I protested.

They looked appalled. "Why wouldn't you want to go out with _Cave Johnson_?" Carmen said shrilly. "Do you have any idea what any of us would give to be in your position?"

"I bet you've never even been in his bedroom," Amanda said sourly.

I tried to ignore the unfortunate implications of that. "He only asked me to stay with him over Christmas and New Years because I have nowhere else to go. When he offered to take me in for during the other major holidays, I declined."

Their faces told me that was entirely not what they wanted to hear.

"So does this mean he's fair game?" Carmen asked.

I couldn't bring myself to tell them yes. The thought of the women of Aperture neglecting their duties to flirt with Cave gave me a stomach ulcer. The work that wouldn't get done...

"No," I said, thinking quickly. "He's... been seeing other people."

I could tell none of them believed this.

"Like who?" Amanda demanded.

"There are other women outside of Aperture," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but why would he-"

"There you are!"

I turned around to see someone I hadn't expected.

"Steve?" Fran's voice was filled with confusion. "What are you doing here?"

It didn't make sense for him to be there. He hadn't come with us, and even if he had, he would be with the rest of the men.

"I'm on a mission, actually. Mister Johnson's orders," he explained. "I need Caroline."

My face fell. Something had to be wrong. I knew I shouldn't have left. "What is it?"

"I'll tell you on the way," he said. "We need to get going."

"You're interrupting a very important conversation, Stephen," Amanda said sourly."

"Take it up with Mister Johnson," Steve said, waving it off. "I've got orders." He grabbed my arm and starting dragging me along, though I was happy to leave. The other women, however, were not so pleased, and I could feel their stares as we left the store. Instictively, I knew they weren't done interrogating me.

"So," I said, wincing as the cold outside air hit my face, "what's wrong?"

"Well, as far as I know, they're all contained, for now, but Mister Johnson always wants your opinion- this way-" we rounded a corner into a parking lot- "before he does anything this important, and although he was really hesitant about taking you away from your weekend out- this one's mine-" he slid into the driver side as I opened the passenger door- "but I really didn't think you'd mind, seeing your literal obsession with the place, in fact, I was surprised you even left this weekend, with how cold it's been, and besides, I lost the bet."

"What bet?" I asked as he started the car.

"Ah- it was stupid." He scratched his head, almost embarrassed. "I bet against Marty that you'd actually go today. Lost a fiver. Not your fault."

I wasn't sure if I should be offended by this or not. Still, something was going on at Aperture. "You still haven't said what's going on," I reminded.

"Right. Well, it's more of a collection of things. First of all, remember those men who got injected with mantis DNA? Well, they're a little... homicidal, to put it lightly."

Putting it lightly? "What would be putting it, um, not lightly?"

"Well, remember Janitor Bob? They tried to eat him."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, he's fine." I grabbed the doorframe as Steve flew around a corner. "He actually fought it off with his screwdriver. Impressive, to say the least. He won't be able to walk for a year, though. And I can't imagine going through life will be fun with only three fingers on one hand." He glanced at me. "You okay? You look a little gre- oh. Right. I can drive a little slower."

"No, you're fine," I said resolutely. "Let's just get there."

"If you say so." He put more pressure on the gas, and we were flying.


	20. Homo Mantis

**A/N: Today. Today is when there will be more. Seriously, you guys sure know how to make a girl feel guilty. I would promise to be faster, but I know I wouldn't be able to keep it. I have too much to do. On the bright side, I can now count in binary. 1001100 1001111 1001100  
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**So! I wouldn't be surprised if sonic screwdrivers were standard issue for Aperture's janitors for simple maintenance work. Anyway.**

_Chapter Twenty: Homo Mantis_

Cave looked tired when I reached him, leaning against a doorframe.

"Caroline, I am so sorry I had to call you in," he started, straightening.

"It's fine," I said quickly. "What's wrong? Steve didn't mention everything."

"We'll start with the biggest problem." He pointed at the door. "That leads to the sphere where all the mantis DNA test subjects were."

I moved toward the door, meaning to look, but he stopped me. "Don't," he warned. "It's not pretty. Anyway, good news, bad news. Good news is the test works just as I thought it would. Bad news is we've now got a science sphere full of homicidal half-human hybrids."

"I kind of got that impression."

"So I've ordered a thousand or so rifles to help exterminate them. Bean counters said it would be cheaper to buy something else, but a rifle is a man's weapon."

"Right."

He rubbed his eyes. "What do you think?"

I considered his slouch and tired eyes, so unlike the perfect posture and piercing gaze he usually had. "I think you need more coffee."

He laughed. "You're right, of course. But there's still a few other things to show you. Most of them because of stuff the mantis men wrecked. They're pretty hungry. Broke into one of the pantries and ate all the good food. We'll be having nothing but spinach casserole for the next few days."

I grimaced as he let out a humongous yawn.

"Anyway, there's also some structural damage, lots of repulsion gel all over the place, thank God it just takes some water to get it out, so that's taken care of, but the floor in that whole area still feels like it's made of rubber. In any case, they've wrecked enough stuff that it needs to get fixed, which'll take the construction people away from working on the new science spheres, which means those won't open this summer, they'll open late fall." He scowled. "And it's not going to be cheap."

"How long has this been going on?" I finally asked.

He thought about it, doing some quick math. "They called me at two in the morning, so I've been here since... three-thirty?"

My eyes widened. "Why didn't you say anything before I left earlier?"

He smiled. "I wanted to let you have a day off, Caroline, even if it did end up short-lived."

I hesitated. "Sir, maybe you should just take a break. I can handle things myself."

"Don't be silly, Caroline. I pay the bills around here." The last word melded into a yawn. "I just need more coffee."

"Then I'll go get some for you," I offered, starting to walk away.

"Don't," he said, grabbing my wrist. "I can't ask you to do this when it's the weekend." He grinned as he let go. "I'll be right back. Just don't go anywhere."

I watched him stumble off, worried by his lack of coordination. Cave usually strolled with a quick, steady pace that I sometimes could hardly keep up, and now he could barely pick up his feet as he walked.

I leaned against the wall and tried to put it out of my head. My gaze wandered to the door. Behind the wooden frame, there were a good two hundred or so half-human hybrids, probably the first ever in human history. My fingers itched for the handle.

But no, I told myself. They're dangerous. They're the reason Cave's been overworked today. It's not worth it. I forcefully turned away from the door-

-only to look back at it a minute later.

I sighed. Cave would understand, I told myself, opening the door.

It was somewhat dark inside, the lights spread far apart. I couldn't see any of them immediately, and that only piqued my curiosity further. I moved a little farther in, checking my distance to the door so I knew I could make a hasty exit if necessary. Where were they hiding? I just wanted a glimpse. I took a few more steps, wishing they would just come out. I didn't want to leave sight of the door, but it became apparent that I would have to, and I hesitated before I kept going.

Cave was going to be _furious._

"Caroline?"

I whirled around. Speak of the devil. "Sir?"

I couldn't see him, but I could see a figure moving quickly in my peripheral vision. I turned toward it and screamed as it lunged for me. I avoided it the first time, but another one of them was at my back, grabbing me as soon as I tried to head for the door. Its claws were on me, and I stared into its bulging bug eyes, and I realized with horror that I recognized him, it was the man who caught the repulsion gel ball, the man who went first, the man Cave had said would make a fine mantis man...

He was doing a damn good job of it now.

The others were forming a crowd around me as he knocked me over, rubbing its claws together as it bent over me and pinned my arms down. I couldn't breathe, let alone shout for help, not that anyone would help me. His mouth opened wide, hovering directly over my head, as the others chittered excitedly, ready to join in-

_bang-_

and suddenly he was staggering away from me, screeching as his claws covered a bloody hole in his chest. The others shrieked in fear, running away as more shots rang out. I sat up, grasping my face as the blood rushed to my head, and suddenly a hand grabbed my arm and lifted me up.

"Stick behind me, Caroline."

_Cave_. I felt a surge of relief as he aimed the gun at the few mantis men who were still eying me as they retreated. Cave stared them down, finger on the trigger, and another warning shot scared them off. He lowered the gun and took my hand.

"Stay alert," he advised. "They could be back at any time. Persistent buggers."

I just wanted to run, but Cave tightened his grip and forced me to walk slower. "They follow anything that moves," he warned. "Especially since they're hungry. Better they eat each other than us."

I shivered, that fact not helping ease the current turmoil in my mind. In response, he squeezed my hand lightly and picked up the pace slightly.

Unfortunately, they seemed to notice.

One of them appeared to the side, still hiding in the shadows but watching us hungrily. Cave's expression hardened and we slowed to a stop, him matching the mantis man's stare.

"Caroline," he said, very softly, "when I let go of your hand, we are both going to run as fast as we can toward the door. Got it? ...Just say yes."

"Yes," I breathed.

His grip left my hand, and we were moving. They gave chase immediately.

The door still looked miles away, seeming to be receding than getting closer, and yet somehow he shoved me through the door, slamming it behind us as one of them threw itself after us, hitting the door with a giant thud. It clawed at the window angrily, beating the frame mercilessly, and I just stared at it in horror until Cave gently turned my face toward his. I was gasping, my head spinning, the entire world whirling away from me. Cave's voice sounded distant.

"Caroline? Caroline, look at me. Stick with me."

He was shaking my shoulders, but it didn't matter, all I could think about was what I saw in there.

"Caroline!"

I found his eyes and locked onto them, forcing myself to calm down. _It's just Cave. It's just Cave. He's not a mantis man. He is not a mantis man, and he is not going to hurt you._

"There you go. Take deep breaths. Just calm down. They're not going anywhere."

Deep breaths. In and out, I told myself, in and out... Eventually, I found my voice.

"Sir, what did we _do_?"

His face fell. "What do you mean?"

"Those people..." I shook myself, trying to get rid of the lingering image. "What did we _do_?"

"Science, Caroline!" He was trying to sound reassuring. "Always science."

"But they're not..." My stomach twisted as I remembered the eyes of the one I recognized. "They were _people_. And now they're... not."

He sighed. "Those people sighed a legally binding contract that said they accepted the risks of anything that went on," he said carefully. "You know that. Science isn't always safe."

I _knew _that."Yes, but that was..." I took a deep breath. "I don't know. We won't be continuing that experiment, will we?"

"Maybe," he said noncommittally. "Depends on how good the test subjects can shoot."

This immediately struck me as horribly wrong, and I searched for a scientific validation for this to calm myself down. Ways to test it, ways to keep things constant...

"Talk it out, Caroline. You worry me when you stay quiet. I think you're going back into shock."

"Right." I tried to concentrate, forcing the encounter out of my head. "Well, we could give them different types of guns, or tweak their battlefield..."

"Or give them impaired vision and see if their aim is still perfect." He sounded hopeful. "Like googly-eyes."

"And for the mantis DNA itself, we could tweak the amount, which chromosomes cause which effects, and-"

"Find a way to make their claws bigger," Cave mused. Seeing my expression, he quickly added, "And if we succeed, give the shooters more bullets to keep it fair."

I sighed. "There's a lot to work with," I said. "I'll write it down."

"You don't have to worry about that now," he said. "In fact, you can take Monday off, if you need to."

My head shot up. "That won't be necessary," I said immediately. "I'll be fine. We need to get the facility back to normal."

"That's the spirit," he said admirably. "Can't say I'm thrilled that you went in there in the first place."

My shoulders sunk. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Don't worry about it. I didn't really think you'd be able to resist going in there anyway. Anyway, let's go take a walk down the bouncy hall."

"Any reason?"

"Why else? For science!"

I couldn't help but laugh, feeling more at ease as I walked off with him, letting any remaining thoughts of the mantis men drift away.


End file.
